Graco Inc. $GGG Shares Purchased by Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 82.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 180,509 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 81,706 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC owned about 0.11% of Graco worth $16,027,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GGG. eCIO Inc. acquired a new position in Graco in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Graco in the first quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its holdings 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 valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Graco by 982.6% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 498 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 452 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Graco in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Graco from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Graco in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.50.

Graco Price Performance

Graco stock opened at $84.66 on Monday. Graco Inc. has a 12 month low of $72.06 and a 12 month high of $92.86. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $85.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $84.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.03 billion, a PE ratio of 30.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.03.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) 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). Graco had a return on equity of 19.05% and a net margin of 22.26%.The company had revenue of $571.81 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $590.57 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.77 EPS. Graco’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 20th will be given a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 20th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.01%.

Graco Profile

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.