Graco Inc. $GGG Shares Sold by Bleakley Financial Group LLC

Bleakley Financial Group LLC reduced its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,949 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 206 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Graco were worth $1,113,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Graco by 149.5% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 4,992 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $416,000 after purchasing an additional 2,991 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Graco by 13.8% in the 1st quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 70,117 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,855,000 after purchasing an additional 8,490 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Graco in the 1st quarter valued at about $2,335,000. Novem Group lifted its stake in shares of Graco by 34.5% in the 1st quarter. Novem Group now owns 11,900 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $994,000 after purchasing an additional 3,052 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP raised its holdings in shares of Graco by 59.4% during the 1st quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 16,677 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,393,000 after buying an additional 6,216 shares during the period. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Graco Stock Up 0.9%

GGG stock opened at $82.42 on Friday. Graco Inc. has a 52-week low of $72.06 and a 52-week high of $92.86. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $84.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.23. The company has a market capitalization of $13.66 billion, a PE ratio of 28.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.07.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $563.07 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.71 earnings per share. Graco’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.