California Public Employees Retirement System Increases Stock Position in Graco Inc. $GGG

California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 8.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 315,832 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 23,684 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.19% of Graco worth $26,735,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of GGG. AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Graco by 32.7% during the fourth quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 398,336 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,652,000 after purchasing an additional 98,141 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank raised its position in shares of Graco by 54.1% during the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 172,328 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $14,126,000 after purchasing an additional 60,486 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in Graco by 20,706.4% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 556,362 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $45,605,000 after buying an additional 553,688 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its holdings in Graco by 294.4% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 297,787 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $24,410,000 after buying an additional 222,279 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in Graco by 299.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 342,247 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,263,000 after buying an additional 256,593 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Andrea Helen Simon purchased 1,240 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $80.53 per share, for a total transaction of $99,857.20. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 1,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $99,857.20. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on GGG shares. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Graco from $96.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Wolfe Research downgraded Graco from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $92.00 target price (down from $95.00) on shares of Graco in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Graco from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $85.00 target price 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $93.50.

Graco Stock Performance

Shares of Graco stock opened at $73.99 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $74.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $82.71. The company has a market cap of $12.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.10, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.93. Graco Inc. has a one year low of $72.51 and a one year high of $95.69.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.10. Graco had a return on equity of 18.66% and a net margin of 22.96%.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 previous year, the firm earned $0.75 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, 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 issued a $0.295 dividend. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 20th. Graco’s payout ratio is presently 38.44%.

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.