Legal & General Group Plc Takes $46.45 Million Position in Graco Inc. $GGG

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc acquired 614,277 Graco shares worth approximately $46.45 million, representing about 0.38% of the company. Institutional investors collectively own 93.88% of Graco.
• Analysts maintain a generally cautious view, with Graco carrying an average “Hold” rating and a $95 price target; the stock recently opened at $79.14.
• Graco exceeded quarterly earnings expectations with EPS of $0.91 versus a $0.81 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 3.3% year over year to $590.55 million. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.295, for a 1.5% annualized yield.

Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 614,277 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $46,445,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.38% of Graco at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in Graco during the second quarter valued at approximately $5,362,000. D.B. Root & Company LLC purchased a new position in Graco in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $960,000. Cibc World Market Inc. bought a new position in shares of Graco in the 2nd quarter worth $447,000. Osbon Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Graco in the 2nd quarter worth $102,000. Finally, OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Graco during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,925,000. 93.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on GGG. DA Davidson reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Graco in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Robert W. Baird set a $94.00 price target on Graco in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Wolfe Research downgraded Graco from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Graco from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Graco from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Graco has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $95.00.

Graco Stock Performance

Shares of GGG opened at $79.14 on Friday. Graco Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $72.51 and a fifty-two week high of $95.69. The firm has a market cap of $12.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.89, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.92. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $78.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $81.62.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $590.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $608.06 million. Graco had a net margin of 23.53% and a return on equity of 19.54%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.75 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 20th were issued a $0.295 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 20th. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Graco's payout ratio is currently 37.11%.

Graco Profile

Graco Inc is a leading manufacturer of fluid handling systems and components, headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded in 1926, the company has built a reputation for innovation in spray finishing, lubrication, and fluid management technologies. Graco's solutions are designed to address the needs of paint and coatings applicators, general industry, and process fluids in a variety of end markets.

The company's product portfolio includes airless and air-assisted spray equipment, pumps for oil and gas applications, industrial lubrication systems, and automated dispensing equipment.

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