Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Acquires Shares of 7,118 Graco Inc. $GGG

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 7,118 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $538,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Graco during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its stake in Graco by 2,650.0% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 330 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. Essential Partners LLC increased its stake in Graco by 78.6% during the first quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 359 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Graco by 2,540.0% during the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 528 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Graco by 982.6% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 498 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 452 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Graco Stock Performance

Shares of GGG opened at $78.85 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $77.94 and a 200-day moving average of $81.83. The company has a market cap of $12.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.92. Graco Inc. has a 1 year low of $72.51 and a 1 year high of $95.69.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $590.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $608.06 million. Graco had a net margin of 23.53% and a return on equity of 19.54%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.75 EPS. Analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.26 EPS for the current year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 20th were paid a $0.295 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 20th. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GGG has been the subject of several research reports. Robert W. Baird set a $94.00 price target on shares of Graco in a report on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Graco from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Wolfe Research cut shares of Graco from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Graco from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Graco in a report on Monday, July 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $95.00.

About Graco

Graco Inc is a leading manufacturer of fluid handling systems and components, headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded in 1926, the company has built a reputation for innovation in spray finishing, lubrication, and fluid management technologies. Graco’s solutions are designed to address the needs of paint and coatings applicators, general industry, and process fluids in a variety of end markets.

The company’s product portfolio includes airless and air-assisted spray equipment, pumps for oil and gas applications, industrial lubrication systems, and automated dispensing equipment.