Cardinal Capital Management Raises Stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Cardinal Capital Management grew its stake in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 14.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,153 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,685 shares during the quarter. Cardinal Capital Management’s holdings in Graco were worth $2,725,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Graco by 1.9% in the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 7,490 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $700,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Graco by 5.5% in the third quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 3,004 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $219,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Graco by 24.3% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 931 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $81,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC raised its holdings in shares of Graco by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC now owns 12,421 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,078,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of Graco by 15.8% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,611 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $151,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Graco Price Performance

Graco stock traded up $0.30 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $79.25. The stock had a trading volume of 1,008,550 shares, compared to its average volume of 716,277. The company has a market cap of $13.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.35, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.82. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $81.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $86.08. Graco Inc. has a 52 week low of $69.78 and a 52 week high of $94.77.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The industrial products company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.09). Graco had a return on equity of 23.01% and a net margin of 23.15%. The firm had revenue of $492.19 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $536.19 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.74 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 3.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.255 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 22nd. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.29%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on GGG. StockNews.com downgraded Graco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $103.00 price objective on shares of Graco in a report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Graco from $90.00 to $87.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Graco in a report on Friday, April 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.75.

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.