PineStone Asset Management Inc. Increases Stock Position in Graco Inc. $GGG

Key Points

• PineStone Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Graco Inc. by 9.1% during the 2nd quarter, now holding approximately 3.91 million shares, valued at $336.26 million.
• Graco's quarterly earnings missed the consensus estimate, reporting $0.75 EPS compared to an expected $0.78, alongside a revenue of $571.81 million.
• The company announced a $0.275 quarterly dividend, set to be paid on November 5th, with an annual yield of 1.3% and an ex-dividend date on October 20th.

PineStone Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 9.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,911,372 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 326,877 shares during the quarter. Graco comprises about 2.2% of PineStone Asset Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. PineStone Asset Management Inc. owned about 2.34% of Graco worth $336,261,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GGG. Forum Financial Management LP bought a new position in Graco in the 4th quarter worth $241,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its holdings in Graco by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 26,249 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,213,000 after purchasing an additional 2,829 shares in the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Graco in the 4th quarter worth $279,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in Graco in the 4th quarter worth $13,853,000. Finally, Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH bought a new position in Graco in the 4th quarter worth $216,000. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GGG has been the subject of several research reports. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Graco in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Graco from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. 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.com, Graco presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $94.50.

Graco Price Performance

Shares of Graco stock opened at $84.00 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $85.07 and a 200 day moving average of $84.06. The firm has a market cap of $13.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.79, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.03. Graco Inc. has a 1 year low of $72.06 and a 1 year high of $92.86.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $571.81 million during 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 firm's revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.77 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 20th. 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.

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