Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Grows Stake in Graco Inc. $GGG

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,079,571 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,702 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 0.65% of Graco worth $92,811,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Graco by 572.1% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 437,661 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,549,000 after acquiring an additional 372,543 shares in the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Graco by 9.1% in the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,911,372 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $336,261,000 after purchasing an additional 326,877 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Graco in the 1st quarter valued at $26,540,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its stake in Graco by 55.7% during the 2nd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 693,111 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $59,587,000 after purchasing an additional 248,056 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of Graco by 12.3% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,337,457 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $111,691,000 after buying an additional 146,424 shares in the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Graco Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of GGG opened at $82.44 on Friday. Graco Inc. has a 12-month low of $72.06 and a 12-month high of $91.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.08. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $82.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $84.35.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $543.36 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $563.07 million. Graco had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 22.72%.Graco’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.71 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 5th. Investors of record on Monday, October 20th were issued a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 20th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $89.00 price target on shares of Graco in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Graco from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Saturday, October 25th. Finally, KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Graco in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.00.

About Graco

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.