182,230 Shares in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Acquired by William Blair Investment Management LLC

William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 182,230 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,447,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned about 0.11% of Graco at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Graco by 14.4% in the second quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,543 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $202,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Graco by 204.4% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 51,444 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,078,000 after acquiring an additional 34,545 shares in the last quarter. Nuance Investments LLC raised its stake in Graco by 80.1% during the 2nd quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 459,873 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,459,000 after acquiring an additional 204,514 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Graco by 57.7% during the second quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 13,917 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,103,000 after purchasing an additional 5,093 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Achmea Investment Management B.V. boosted its position in shares of Graco by 95.1% in the second quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 17,226 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,365,000 after purchasing an additional 8,396 shares during the period. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Graco Price Performance

NYSE:GGG opened at $83.96 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $14.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.95, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.81. Graco Inc. has a 1 year low of $69.78 and a 1 year high of $94.77. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $81.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $84.08.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its quarterly 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.75 earnings per share. Graco’s revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 2.98 EPS for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 21st. Graco’s payout ratio is 35.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.