Graco Inc. $GGG Shares Sold by Retirement Systems of Alabama

Retirement Systems of Alabama lessened its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 15.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 308,588 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 57,637 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned approximately 0.19% of Graco worth $26,529,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. PineStone Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Graco by 9.1% during the second quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,911,372 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $336,261,000 after purchasing an additional 326,877 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Graco by 2.7% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,390,940 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $199,667,000 after purchasing an additional 62,761 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Graco by 1.6% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,828,962 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $152,737,000 after purchasing an additional 28,795 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its stake in Graco by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 1,797,477 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $144,194,000 after buying an additional 120,875 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in Graco by 12.3% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,337,457 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $111,691,000 after buying an additional 146,424 shares in the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Graco Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of Graco stock opened at $80.72 on Friday. Graco Inc. has a 52 week low of $72.06 and a 52 week high of $92.86. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $84.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.07.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.75 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $543.36 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $563.07 million. Graco had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 22.72%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.71 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The company 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 of this dividend is Monday, October 20th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on GGG. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Graco in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Weiss Ratings cut Graco from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $89.00 price objective on Graco in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus 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.