Millennium Management LLC Has $10.15 Million Position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 43.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 128,076 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 38,853 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC owned 0.08% of Graco worth $10,154,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Fund Management S.A. raised its stake in Graco by 160.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Fund Management S.A. now owns 78,746 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,832,000 after buying an additional 48,547 shares during the period. Secured Retirement Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Graco in the 4th quarter valued at $1,606,000. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA acquired a new stake in Graco during the 4th quarter valued at $1,076,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its position in Graco by 51.9% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 2,189 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $190,000 after purchasing an additional 748 shares during the period. Finally, True Vision MN LLC acquired a new position in shares of Graco in the fourth quarter valued at $2,380,000. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Graco Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:GGG opened at $85.25 on Wednesday. Graco Inc. has a 12-month low of $69.78 and a 12-month high of $94.77. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $82.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $83.28. The firm has a market cap of $14.42 billion, a PE ratio of 29.40, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.81.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $553.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $562.27 million. Graco had a return on equity of 22.40% and a net margin of 23.16%. The company’s revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.75 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 2.98 EPS for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.20%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is 35.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. 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 research note on Friday, July 26th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $79.00 price objective on shares of Graco in a report on Friday, September 27th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Graco from $99.00 to $96.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Graco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $90.25.

Graco Profile

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.