Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 425,119 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 3,365 shares during the period. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC owned 0.25% of Graco worth $37,202,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Graco by 5.5% in the second quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 2,309 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $183,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its stake in Graco by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 4,222 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $369,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Graco by 7.1% during the second quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 2,031 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $161,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Graco by 8.8% during the second quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,687 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $134,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Graco by 6.3% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,397 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $190,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Graco Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of Graco stock traded up $1.24 on Friday, hitting $82.69. 120,149 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 730,083. Graco Inc. has a 12-month low of $74.79 and a 12-month high of $94.77. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $83.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $82.45. The company has a market cap of $13.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.81.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.05). Graco had a net margin of 22.87% and a return on equity of 21.24%. The business had revenue of $519.21 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $538.19 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.76 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 2.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st will be given a dividend of $0.255 per share. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 21st. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GGG has been the subject of several analyst reports. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $79.00 price objective on shares of Graco in a report on Friday, September 27th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Graco from $96.00 to $93.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.25.

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.