Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Makes New $14.63 Million Investment in Graco Inc. $GGG

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management purchased 193,534 Graco shares valued at approximately $14.63 million, while institutional investors collectively own 93.88% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating on Graco, with an average price target of $95; individual targets range from $85 to $96.
• Graco exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.91 in EPS versus the $0.81 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 3.3% year over year to $590.55 million. The company also maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.295 per share, yielding about 1.4%.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 193,534 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $14,633,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.12% of Graco at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Graco in the 2nd quarter valued at about $727,000. Simplicity Wealth LLC bought a new position in Graco in the second quarter worth approximately $738,000. Abbot Financial Management Inc. bought a new position in Graco in the second quarter worth approximately $752,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Graco in the second quarter valued at approximately $116,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Graco in the second quarter valued at approximately $97,625,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.88% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Graco Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of Graco stock opened at $81.77 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $13.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $77.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $82.03. Graco Inc. has a 12-month low of $72.51 and a 12-month high of $95.69.

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

Graco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Investors of record on Monday, July 20th were issued a dividend of $0.295 per share. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 20th. Graco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding GGG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source