The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Decreases Stock Position in Graco Inc. $GGG

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 31.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 80,126 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 35,977 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Graco were worth $6,783,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of GGG. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Graco during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its stake in Graco by 2,650.0% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 330 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Graco by 982.6% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 498 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 452 shares in the last quarter. Field & Main Bank purchased a new stake in Graco during the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in Graco by 43.2% in the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 504 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Graco Price Performance

GGG stock opened at $82.49 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $75.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $82.39. The company has a market cap of $13.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.92. Graco Inc. has a 1 year low of $72.51 and a 1 year high of $95.69.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.10. Graco had a net margin of 23.53% and a return on equity of 19.54%. The firm had revenue of $590.55 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $608.06 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.75 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on GGG. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Graco from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Wolfe Research lowered Graco from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Graco in a report on Monday, July 27th. Robert W. Baird set a $94.00 target price on shares of Graco in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Graco from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Graco presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $95.00.

About Graco

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.