Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Stake Increased by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Graco Inc. by 7.1% during the first quarter, acquiring an additional 69,526 shares, bringing its total ownership to over 1 million shares valued at approximately $87.3 million.
• Graco recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.275 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 1.3% and a payout ratio of 39.01%.
• Despite reporting a lower-than-expected EPS of $0.75 for the last quarter, Graco's revenue showed a year-over-year increase of 3.4%, totaling $571.81 million.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 7.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,045,486 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 69,526 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.63% of Graco worth $87,299,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Graco in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its stake 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 during the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas grew its stake 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 during the last quarter. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. purchased a new position in shares of Graco in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $140,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted 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 buying an additional 319 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.88% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Graco Stock Down 0.9%

GGG traded down $0.81 during trading on Friday, reaching $84.48. The stock had a trading volume of 498,311 shares, compared to its average volume of 802,690. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.04. Graco Inc. has a 1-year low of $72.06 and a 1-year high of $92.86. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $85.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $84.12.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $590.57 million. Graco had a return on equity of 19.05% and a net margin of 22.26%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.77 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

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

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.