Magnetar Financial LLC Purchases New Holdings in Graco Inc. $GGG

Key Points

• Magnetar Financial LLC invested approximately $3.75 million in Graco Inc. by acquiring 44,910 shares during the first quarter.
• Graco reported a quarterly EPS of $0.75, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78, with revenue of $571.81 million during the quarter.
• The company announced a $0.275 quarterly dividend, representing an annualized yield of 1.3%, with a payout ratio of 39.01%.

Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 44,910 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $3,750,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Graco during the 1st quarter valued at $41,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Graco in the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Graco by 128.9% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 689 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 388 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service increased its holdings in Graco by 74.8% in the 1st quarter. National Pension Service now owns 699 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group increased its holdings 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.88% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target 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 issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $94.50.

Graco Stock Down 1.0%

NYSE:GGG traded down $0.88 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $84.51. 393,889 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 811,760. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.97, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.03. Graco Inc. has a 52 week low of $72.06 and a 52 week high of $92.86. The firm's 50 day moving average is $85.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.21.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $590.57 million. Graco had a net margin of 22.26% and a return on equity of 19.05%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.77 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st were issued a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 21st. Graco's dividend payout ratio is presently 39.01%.

Graco Company 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.