Simplicity Wealth LLC Buys Shares of 9,759 Graco Inc. $GGG

Simplicity Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 9,759 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $738,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Graco by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,813,877 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $640,503,000 after purchasing an additional 242,817 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Graco by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,652,241 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $380,642,000 after purchasing an additional 261,126 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in Graco by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,057,036 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $332,556,000 after purchasing an additional 206,949 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its stake in Graco by 2.6% during the third quarter. Amundi now owns 2,076,887 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $176,016,000 after purchasing an additional 53,126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Graco during the fourth quarter worth $161,949,000. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Graco Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of GGG stock opened at $81.54 on Tuesday. Graco Inc. has a 52 week low of $72.51 and a 52 week high of $95.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.21 billion, a PE ratio of 25.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.92. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $77.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $82.14.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last posted 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. Graco had a return on equity of 19.54% and a net margin of 23.53%.The business had revenue of $590.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $608.06 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.75 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Investors of record on Monday, July 20th were paid a dividend of $0.295 per share. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 20th. Graco’s payout ratio is presently 37.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.