Harvey Investment Co. LLC Has $3.18 Million Position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Harvey Investment Co. LLC grew its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 576.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 36,380 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 31,000 shares during the period. Harvey Investment Co. LLC’s holdings in Graco were worth $3,184,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in GGG. Gradient Investments LLC acquired a new position in Graco in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new position in shares of Graco in the 1st quarter worth approximately $43,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Graco by 187.8% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 495 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Graco by 220.9% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 690 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tobam raised its position in Graco by 90.2% in the 1st quarter. Tobam now owns 601 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Graco Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of GGG opened at $81.15 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $83.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $82.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.73 billion, a PE ratio of 28.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.81. Graco Inc. has a 12-month low of $69.78 and a 12-month high of $94.77.

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

Graco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Investors 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 yield of 1.26%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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