Renaissance Technologies LLC Buys 337,300 Shares of Graco Inc. $GGG

Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 87.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 721,700 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 337,300 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned about 0.43% of Graco worth $61,092,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Graco by 15.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 330,409 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,592,000 after buying an additional 44,573 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Graco by 982.6% during the 1st 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 last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Graco by 97.2% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,765 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $152,000 after acquiring an additional 870 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in Graco by 559.5% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 108,100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,293,000 after purchasing an additional 91,708 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in Graco by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 21,289 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,830,000 after purchasing an additional 852 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird set a $94.00 price target on Graco in a research note on Friday. Wolfe Research downgraded Graco from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Graco from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Graco from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Graco in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $95.00.

Graco Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of GGG opened at $79.43 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $12.86 billion, a PE ratio of 24.98, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.93. Graco Inc. has a 12 month low of $72.51 and a 12 month high of $95.69. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $75.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.65.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.10. Graco had a return on equity of 19.54% and a net margin of 23.53%.The company had revenue of $590.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $608.06 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.75 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 20th will be given 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 is Monday, July 20th. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.11%.

Key Headlines Impacting Graco

Here are the key news stories impacting Graco this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Graco posted record second-quarter sales and operating earnings, while adjusted EPS of $0.91 beat expectations, helping fuel buying in the stock. Graco (GGG) On Record Q2 Earnings And The Case For More Upside
• Positive Sentiment: Management’s third-quarter sales guidance and reaffirmed full-year outlook signaled confidence in demand trends, backlog growth, and a stronger second half. Graco Inc. Signals Stronger Second Half Ahead
• Positive Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada raised its price target on Graco to $96 from $92 and kept an outperform rating, reinforcing a bullish analyst view. Benzinga / The Fly analyst update
• Neutral Sentiment: William Blair maintained a Hold rating, saying improving orders and backlog are being offset by only modest near-term growth. Balanced Outlook for Graco
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles highlighted that revenue came in below some estimates even as profits and margins improved, making the earnings reaction more dependent on outlook than on top-line growth alone. Graco Surpasses Q2 Earnings Estimates, Reaffirms 2026 View

Graco Company 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.