Magnetar Financial LLC Grows Position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Magnetar Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 266.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,523 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 8,378 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC's holdings in Graco were worth $914,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Graco Price Performance

Shares of Graco stock traded down $0.78 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $84.88. 938,013 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 746,244. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $82.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $83.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.27, a PEG 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 - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $553.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $562.27 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.75 earnings per share. Graco's revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 2.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.255 per share. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. Graco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on GGG. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on shares of Graco from $82.00 to $79.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com downgraded Graco from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Graco from $87.00 to $86.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Graco from $99.00 to $96.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently 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.