Raiffeisen Bank International AG Takes $274,000 Position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Key Points

• Raiffeisen Bank International AG has acquired a new stake in Graco Inc. worth approximately $274,000, buying 3,280 shares during the first quarter.
• Graco recently reported quarterly earnings of $0.75 EPS, missing estimates, with revenue of $571.81 million, which is below the consensus estimate of $590.57 million.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.275, payable on August 6th, reflecting a 1.3% dividend yield.

Raiffeisen Bank International AG acquired a new stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,280 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $274,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of GGG. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Graco in the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. Sit Investment Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Graco in the 4th quarter valued at $80,000. USA Financial Formulas raised its holdings in shares of Graco by 43.6% in the 1st quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 1,057 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in shares of Graco by 21.1% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,834 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $153,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares in the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GGG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Graco from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Graco in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $94.50.

Graco Stock Performance

Graco stock traded down $0.42 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $83.50. 522,894 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 809,869. Graco Inc. has a 12-month low of $72.06 and a 12-month high of $92.86. The stock has a market cap of $13.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.04. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $85.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $84.11.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.03). Graco had a return on equity of 19.05% and a net margin of 22.26%. The business had revenue of $571.81 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $590.57 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.77 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st were given a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 21st. Graco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.01%.

Insider Transactions at Graco

In other Graco news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,588 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.23, for a total transaction of $309,393.24. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 27,520 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,373,049.60. This trade represents a 11.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 2.19% of the company's stock.

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.