Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Raises Holdings in Graco Inc. $GGG

Key Points

• Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its stake in Graco Inc. by 12.6% to own approximately 1.29 million shares valued at $107.85 million.
• Graco reported quarterly earnings of $0.75 per share, missing estimates, with revenue of $571.81 million, below analysts' expectations of $590.57 million.
• The stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with a consensus target price of $94.50.

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 12.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,291,475 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 144,134 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned 0.77% of Graco worth $107,851,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GGG. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Graco during the first quarter worth $41,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Graco during the fourth quarter worth approximately $46,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew 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 worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 388 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service grew its position 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 worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group grew its position in shares of Graco by 92.6% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 932 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 448 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.88% of the company's stock.

Graco Price Performance

Graco stock traded down $1.21 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $84.74. The company had a trading volume of 499,332 shares, compared to its average volume of 803,950. Graco Inc. has a 1 year low of $72.06 and a 1 year high of $92.86. The company has a market capitalization of $14.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.03. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $85.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $84.16.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.