Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. Acquires 39,691 Shares of Graco Inc. $GGG

Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. raised its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 991,702 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 39,691 shares during the period. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. owned about 0.60% of Graco worth $85,257,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GGG. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Graco by 320.7% in the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 345 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 263 shares during the period. eCIO Inc. acquired a new position in Graco during the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Graco in the 1st quarter valued at $41,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its stake in Graco by 41.5% during the second quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 481 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Graco by 982.6% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 498 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 452 shares during the period. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Graco Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE GGG opened at $83.39 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $82.13 and its 200 day moving average is $84.22. Graco Inc. has a 52 week low of $72.06 and a 52 week high of $91.00. The company has a market cap of $13.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.46, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.09.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by ($0.02). Graco had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 22.72%.The business had revenue of $543.36 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $563.07 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.71 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Friday, December 5th that permits the company to repurchase 15,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 20th were paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 20th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Graco’s payout ratio is presently 37.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on GGG. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Graco from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Saturday, October 25th. Robert W. Baird set a $89.00 target price on shares of Graco in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Graco in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.00.

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.