GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. Boosts Stock Position in Graco Inc. $GGG

Key Points

• GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. increased its stake in Graco Inc. by 10%, now holding approximately $9.65 million in stock after acquiring more shares in the 1st quarter.
• Graco recently reported an EPS of $0.75, missing analysts' expectations, with quarterly revenue of $571.81 million compared to estimates of $590.57 million.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.275 per share, representing an annualized payout of $1.10 and a dividend yield of 1.3%.

GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 10.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 115,497 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 10,533 shares during the period. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. owned 0.07% of Graco worth $9,645,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of GGG. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Graco during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Graco during the 4th quarter worth about $46,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Graco by 128.9% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 689 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 388 shares during the period. National Pension Service grew its stake in shares of Graco by 74.8% during the first quarter. National Pension Service now owns 699 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group grew its position in Graco by 92.6% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 932 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $78,000 after acquiring an additional 448 shares during the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Graco from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Graco in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Graco has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $94.50.

Graco Price Performance

GGG stock traded up $1.64 during trading on Thursday, hitting $86.15. 457,332 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 807,315. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $85.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $84.21. Graco Inc. has a 1 year low of $72.06 and a 1 year high of $92.86. The company has a market cap of $14.27 billion, a PE ratio of 30.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.03.

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

Graco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st were given a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 21st. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. 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.