Pacer Advisors Inc. Takes Position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Sep 25th, 2023

Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG – Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 34,920 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,015,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GGG. BlackRock Inc. grew its stake in Graco by 10.0% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 16,868,602 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,231,577,000 after buying an additional 1,538,176 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Graco by 13.0% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,619,918 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $556,330,000 after acquiring an additional 878,009 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Graco by 102,901.6% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,793,696 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $322,424,000 after acquiring an additional 4,789,042 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its position in Graco by 156.6% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,453,162 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $299,520,000 after purchasing an additional 2,718,018 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Graco by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,846,546 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $191,458,000 after purchasing an additional 80,199 shares during the last quarter. 84.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Graco Price Performance

GGG opened at $73.34 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $78.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $77.50. The firm has a market cap of $12.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.95, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.81. Graco Inc. has a 1 year low of $58.17 and a 1 year high of $87.94.

Graco (NYSE:GGG – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 26th. The industrial products company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by ($0.03). Graco had a net margin of 23.10% and a return on equity of 25.52%. The firm had revenue of $559.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $576.14 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.68 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 2.99 EPS for the current year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 1st. Investors of record on Monday, October 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 13th. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.28%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.97%.

Insider Activity at Graco

In other Graco news, CEO Mark W. Sheahan acquired 1,263 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 31st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $79.04 per share, for a total transaction of $99,827.52. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 62,986 shares in the company, valued at $4,978,413.44. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Graco news, Director Sant R. William Van sold 30,870 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.08, for a total value of $2,317,719.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark W. Sheahan bought 1,263 shares of Graco stock in a transaction on Monday, July 31st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $79.04 per share, for a total transaction of $99,827.52. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 62,986 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,978,413.44. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.98% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GGG has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com raised Graco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 25th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Graco from $94.00 to $91.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 28th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Graco in a report on Monday, June 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $83.00.

Check Out Our Latest Report on Graco

Graco Company Profile

(Free Report)

Graco Inc designs, manufactures, and markets systems and equipment used to move, measure, control, dispense, and spray fluid and powder materials worldwide. The company's Industrial segment offers proportioning systems to spray polyurethane foam and polyurea coatings; equipment that pumps, meters, mixes and dispenses sealant, adhesive, and composite materials; and gel-coat equipment, chop and wet-out systems, resin transfer molding systems and applicators, and precision dispensing solutions.