Quantbot Technologies LP Grows Stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its holdings in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 410.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,329 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 34,041 shares during the quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in Graco were worth $3,356,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Gradient Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Graco during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Graco in the first quarter worth approximately $38,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new position in shares of Graco in the first quarter worth approximately $43,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Graco by 220.9% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 690 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tobam lifted its holdings in Graco by 90.2% during the first quarter. Tobam now owns 601 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GGG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Graco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Graco from $99.00 to $96.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Graco from $87.00 to $86.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their price target on shares of Graco from $82.00 to $79.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.80.

Graco Stock Up 1.0 %

NYSE:GGG opened at $83.96 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $14.20 billion, a PE ratio of 28.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.81. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $81.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $84.08. Graco Inc. has a 52-week low of $69.78 and a 52-week high of $94.77.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.01. Graco had a return on equity of 22.40% and a net margin of 23.16%. The company had revenue of $553.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $562.27 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.75 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 2.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st will be given a dividend of $0.255 per share. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 21st. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.17%.

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.