Squarepoint Ops LLC Raises Stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 15.9% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 339,435 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 46,635 shares during the quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC’s holdings in Graco were worth $26,910,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gradient Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Graco in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Graco during the first quarter worth $38,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new stake in Graco in the 1st quarter valued at about $43,000. Tobam increased its stake in shares of Graco by 90.2% during the first quarter. Tobam now owns 601 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 285 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Graco by 220.9% in 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Graco Stock Performance

Shares of GGG opened at $86.81 on Friday. Graco Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $69.78 and a fifty-two week high of $94.77. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $82.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $83.81. The company has a market capitalization of $14.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.81.

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

Graco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be given a dividend of $0.255 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.17%. Graco’s payout ratio is currently 35.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on GGG. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Graco from $87.00 to $86.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com cut shares of Graco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on 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 reduced their target price on Graco from $82.00 to $79.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.80.

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.