Pacer Advisors Inc. Grows Position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Graco Inc. by 365.8% during Q1, holding 115,322 shares valued at approximately $9.63 million.
• Graco reported earnings of $0.75 per share for the last quarter, missing estimates, with revenue of $571.81 million compared to an expected $590.57 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.275 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend of $1.10 and a yield of 1.30%.

Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 365.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 115,322 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 90,564 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. owned about 0.07% of Graco worth $9,631,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of GGG. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Graco in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Graco by 128.9% in 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 in the last quarter. Sit Investment Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Graco in the fourth quarter worth about $80,000. USA Financial Formulas boosted its position in shares of Graco by 43.6% during the first quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 1,057 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $88,000 after buying an additional 321 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of Graco by 21.1% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,834 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $153,000 after buying an additional 319 shares during the period. 93.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,588 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.23, for a total value of $309,393.24. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 27,520 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,373,049.60. The trade was a 11.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 2.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Graco Price Performance

GGG stock traded up $1.02 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $84.45. 148,215 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 829,928. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.99 billion, a PE ratio of 29.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.06. Graco Inc. has a 52 week low of $72.06 and a 52 week high of $92.86. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $85.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $84.16.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 19.05% and a net margin of 22.26%. The company's revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.77 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be paid a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. Graco's dividend payout ratio is 39.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on GGG shares. Wolfe Research started coverage on Graco in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Graco from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy 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 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.