8,517 Shares in Graco Inc. $GGG Acquired by Sanctuary Advisors LLC

Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 8,517 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $644,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in Graco in the second quarter valued at about $16,632,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Graco by 20,706.4% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 556,362 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $45,605,000 after buying an additional 553,688 shares during the period. Oxbow Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Graco in the fourth quarter worth about $3,157,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of Graco by 87.7% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 721,700 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $61,092,000 after buying an additional 337,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund raised its holdings in shares of Graco by 37.5% during the 1st quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 135,942 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $11,507,000 after buying an additional 37,050 shares during the period. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Graco Price Performance

GGG opened at $79.14 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.82 billion, a PE ratio of 24.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.92. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $78.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $81.62. Graco Inc. has a 12-month low of $72.51 and a 12-month high of $95.69.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $590.55 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $608.06 million. Graco had a net margin of 23.53% and a return on equity of 19.54%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.75 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 3.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on GGG shares. Wolfe Research cut Graco from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Graco from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Robert W. Baird set a $94.00 price target on shares of Graco in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Graco from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Graco in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $95.00.

Graco Profile

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.