Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Acquires 81,706 Shares of Graco Inc. $GGG

Key Points

• Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Graco Inc. by 82.7%, now owning 180,509 shares worth approximately $16.03 million.
• Graco's stock received a moderate buy rating from analysts, with an average price target of $94.50, while the stock is currently trading around $84.66.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.275, with an annualized yield of 1.3%, to be paid on November 5th.

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 82.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 180,509 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 81,706 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC owned about 0.11% of Graco worth $16,027,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. eCIO Inc. acquired a new position in Graco in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its stake in Graco by 41.5% in the 2nd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 481 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Graco in the 1st quarter worth approximately $41,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Graco by 982.6% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 498 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 452 shares during the period. Finally, Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Graco in the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on GGG shares. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Graco in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Graco from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Graco presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $94.50.

Graco Trading Down 0.2%

GGG traded down $0.14 during trading on Monday, hitting $84.50. The stock had a trading volume of 630,851 shares, compared to its average volume of 647,804. The firm has a market cap of $14.00 billion, a PE ratio of 29.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.03. Graco Inc. has a 12 month low of $72.06 and a 12 month high of $92.86. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $85.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $84.08.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $571.81 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $590.57 million. Graco had a return on equity of 19.05% and a net margin of 22.26%.The business's revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.77 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 20th will be given a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 20th. Graco's payout ratio is 39.01%.

About Graco

Graco Inc designs, manufactures, and markets systems and equipment used to move, measure, control, dispense, and spray fluid and powder materials worldwide. The Contractor segment offers sprayers to apply paint to walls and other structures; two-component proportioning systems that are used to spray polyurethane foam and polyurea coatings; and viscous coatings to roofs, as well as markings on roads, parking lots, athletic fields, and floors.