LPL Financial LLC Has $6.22 Million Stock Holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in Graco Inc. by 9.3% during the first quarter, owning 74,529 shares worth approximately $6.22 million.
• Graco reported $0.75 earnings per share for the last quarter, missing analyst estimates of $0.78, while revenue came in at $571.81 million against an expected $590.57 million.
• Graco has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with a price target increase to $94.50 from various research reports.

LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 9.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 74,529 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 6,335 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC's holdings in Graco were worth $6,224,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GGG. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Graco by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 247,741 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $20,882,000 after buying an additional 26,124 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Graco by 32.3% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 17,702 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,524,000 after buying an additional 4,322 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Graco during the fourth quarter worth about $31,553,000. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Graco by 38.3% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,001 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $168,000 after buying an additional 554 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its holdings in Graco by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 73,547 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $6,199,000 after buying an additional 460 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Graco from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Graco in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $94.50.

Graco Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE GGG traded down $0.81 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $84.48. 498,311 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 802,690. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.96, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $85.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $84.12. Graco Inc. has a twelve month low of $72.06 and a twelve month high of $92.86.

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

Graco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st were given a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 21st. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Graco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.01%.

Graco Profile

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.