Texas Permanent School Fund Corp Grows Position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp raised its holdings in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 1.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 147,721 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,912 shares during the quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp owned approximately 0.09% of Graco worth $13,806,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GGG. Tobam lifted its holdings in shares of Graco by 2,330.8% in the fourth quarter. Tobam now owns 316 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Graco in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in Graco in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Graco in the first quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Northwest Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in Graco in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,000. 93.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Graco Price Performance

NYSE GGG traded up $0.48 on Friday, reaching $80.82. 14,419 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 720,740. Graco Inc. has a 12 month low of $69.78 and a 12 month high of $94.77. The stock has a market cap of $13.67 billion, a PE ratio of 27.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.82. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $80.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $85.61.

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

Graco Dividend Announcement

The company 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. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 22nd. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is 35.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $103.00 target price on shares of Graco in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Graco from $90.00 to $87.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com cut shares of Graco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Graco in a research 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. According to MarketBeat, Graco has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $90.75.

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.