Vest Financial LLC Boosts Stock Position in Graco Inc. $GGG

Key Points

• Vest Financial LLC increased its stake in Graco Inc. by 28.1% in the second quarter, holding 49,303 shares valued at approximately $4.24 million.
• Graco's stock received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a price target of $94.50, while analysts forecast earnings of $3.06 per share for the current year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.275, with a yield of 1.4%, to be paid on November 5th to investors of record by October 20th.

Vest Financial LLC grew its stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 28.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 49,303 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 10,828 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC's holdings in Graco were worth $4,239,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. eCIO Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Graco in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Graco in the first quarter worth approximately $41,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its position in Graco by 41.5% in the second quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 481 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Graco by 982.6% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 498 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 452 shares during the period. Finally, Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH purchased a new position in Graco in the second quarter worth approximately $51,000. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GGG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Graco in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Graco in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Graco from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $94.50.

Graco Stock Up 1.0%

GGG opened at $81.05 on Tuesday. Graco Inc. has a 52 week low of $72.06 and a 52 week high of $92.86. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $84.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $84.05. The firm has a market cap of $13.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.07.

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

Graco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 5th. Investors of record on Monday, October 20th will be issued a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 20th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Graco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.01%.

About Graco

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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