Quantbot Technologies LP Boosts Holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Quantbot Technologies LP increased its holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 114.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,288 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,417 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in Graco were worth $775,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Focus Financial Network Inc. ADV purchased a new position in Graco in the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,412,000. Secured Retirement Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Graco in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,606,000. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI lifted its holdings in Graco by 179.4% in the 4th quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI now owns 77,867 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,756,000 after purchasing an additional 50,000 shares in the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Graco during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,026,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in shares of Graco by 334.4% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 30,520 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,648,000 after acquiring an additional 23,494 shares in the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GGG has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com cut Graco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Graco in a report on Friday, April 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $103.00 price objective on shares of Graco in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Graco from $90.00 to $87.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $90.75.

Graco Stock Performance

NYSE:GGG opened at $81.20 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $80.48 and its 200 day moving average is $85.56. Graco Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $69.78 and a fifty-two week high of $94.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.73 billion, a PE ratio of 28.00, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.82.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The industrial products company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $492.19 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $536.19 million. Graco had a net margin of 23.15% and a return on equity of 23.01%. The business’s revenue was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.74 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 3.05 EPS for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 22nd will be given a $0.255 dividend. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 22nd. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.17%.

Graco Company 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.