Inspire Investing LLC Sells 472 Shares of Graco Inc. $GGG

Inspire Investing LLC trimmed its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 12.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,259 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 472 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in Graco were worth $280,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. eCIO Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Graco during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Graco in the 1st quarter valued at $41,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its stake in Graco by 41.5% during the 2nd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 481 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Graco by 982.6% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 498 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 452 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Graco by 128.9% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 689 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 388 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on GGG shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Graco from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Graco in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.50.

Graco Stock Performance

Graco stock opened at $82.36 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $13.65 billion, a PE ratio of 29.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.07. Graco Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $72.06 and a fifty-two week high of $92.86. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $84.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $84.00.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $571.81 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $590.57 million. Graco had a return on equity of 19.05% and a net margin of 22.26%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.77 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 5th. Investors of record on Monday, October 20th will be given a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 20th. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.01%.

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.