Mather Group LLC. Buys New Holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Mather Group LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,002 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $87,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in Graco by 5.5% during the third quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 3,004 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $219,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its holdings in Graco by 24.3% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC lifted its position in Graco by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC now owns 12,421 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,078,000 after buying an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of Graco by 15.8% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,611 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $151,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the period. Finally, Diversified Trust Co raised its stake in Graco by 2.5% during the third quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 10,344 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $754,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the period. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Graco in a research note on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Graco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Graco from $90.00 to $87.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $88.25.

Graco Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of Graco stock opened at $79.50 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.82. Graco Inc. has a 52 week low of $69.78 and a 52 week high of $94.77. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $82.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $86.14.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The industrial products company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $492.19 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $536.19 million. Graco had a net margin of 23.15% and a return on equity of 23.01%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.74 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 22nd will be issued a $0.255 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 22nd. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.28%. Graco’s payout ratio is 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.