Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Has $5.52 Million Stake in Graco Inc. $GGG

Key Points

• The Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio decreased its stake in Graco Inc. by 4.7%, holding 64,250 shares valued at $5.52 million as of the latest filing.
• Graco reported a quarterly earnings miss of $0.75 EPS against an estimated $0.78, with revenues also falling short of expectations at $571.81 million.
• Analysts have a consensus price target of $94.50 for Graco, with the stock currently rated as a "Moderate Buy" after recent coverage updates from major research firms.

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio decreased its holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 64,250 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 3,164 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's holdings in Graco were worth $5,524,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of GGG. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Graco by 53.0% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 95,253 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $8,029,000 after buying an additional 33,015 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Graco by 9,453.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 400,180 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $33,419,000 after purchasing an additional 395,991 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Graco during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $590,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Graco by 36.0% during the 1st quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 16,239 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,356,000 after purchasing an additional 4,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vest Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Graco by 33.8% during the 1st quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 38,475 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,213,000 after purchasing an additional 9,719 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.88% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on GGG. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Graco from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Graco in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Graco currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $94.50.

Graco Stock Performance

GGG opened at $84.51 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $14.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.97, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.03. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $84.99 and a 200 day moving average of $84.08. Graco Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $72.06 and a fifty-two week high of $92.86.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $571.81 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $590.57 million. Graco had a net margin of 22.26% and a return on equity of 19.05%. Graco's revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.77 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

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

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 and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.