Inspire Advisors LLC Invests $224,000 in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Inspire Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,555 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $224,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Gradient Investments LLC acquired a new position in Graco in the second quarter valued at $27,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new position in Graco during the 1st quarter worth approximately $43,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in Graco by 187.8% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 495 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 323 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Graco by 220.9% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 690 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tobam boosted its holdings in shares of Graco by 90.2% in the first quarter. Tobam now owns 601 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the period. 93.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on GGG shares. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Graco from $87.00 to $86.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Graco from $99.00 to $96.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $79.00 price target on shares of Graco in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $90.25.

Graco Stock Performance

Shares of Graco stock opened at $85.92 on Friday. Graco Inc. has a one year low of $69.78 and a one year high of $94.77. The company has a market cap of $14.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.63, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.81. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $83.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $82.96.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.01. Graco had a net margin of 23.16% and a return on equity of 22.40%. The firm had revenue of $553.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $562.27 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.75 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 2.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be issued a $0.255 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 21st. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.19%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.