Running Oak Capital LLC Acquires 9,087 Shares of Graco Inc. $GGG

Key Points

• Running Oak Capital LLC increased its stake in Graco Inc. by 5.2%, acquiring an additional 9,087 shares, bringing its total ownership to 185,206 shares valued at approximately $15.92 million.
• Graco reported $0.75 EPS for the last quarter, which was below analysts' expectations of $0.78, although revenue increased year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.275 per share, with the dividend payout ratio currently at 39.01% and payment scheduled for November 5th.

Running Oak Capital LLC raised its holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 185,206 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 9,087 shares during the quarter. Running Oak Capital LLC owned 0.11% of Graco worth $15,922,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Graco by 149.5% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 4,992 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $416,000 after acquiring an additional 2,991 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Graco by 13.8% in the 1st quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 70,117 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,855,000 after buying an additional 8,490 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Graco in the 1st quarter valued at about $2,335,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in Graco by 150.6% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 7,998 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $675,000 after buying an additional 4,806 shares during the period. Finally, Novem Group boosted its holdings in Graco by 34.5% in the first quarter. Novem Group now owns 11,900 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $994,000 after acquiring an additional 3,052 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.88% of the company's stock.

Graco Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:GGG opened at $84.75 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $14.04 billion, a PE ratio of 30.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.07. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $84.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $84.11. 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 announced its earnings results 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). Graco had a net margin of 22.26% and a return on equity of 19.05%. The firm had revenue of $571.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $590.57 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.77 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 20th will be given 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 dividend yield of 1.3%. Graco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on GGG. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Graco in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Graco in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Graco from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently 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.

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