Amundi Sells 96,233 Shares of Graco Inc. $GGG

Key Points

• Amundi reduced its Graco stake by 4.7% in the first quarter, selling 96,233 shares and retaining 1.94 million shares worth approximately $164.6 million. Institutional investors collectively own 93.88% of Graco.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: Graco has a consensus rating of “Hold” from seven analysts, with an average price target of $95. Royal Bank of Canada raised its target to $96, while Wolfe Research downgraded the stock to “peer perform.”
• Graco exceeded quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $0.91 versus the $0.81 consensus, although revenue of $590.55 million fell short of estimates. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.295 per share, representing a 1.5% yield.

Amundi lessened its stake in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 4.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,944,152 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 96,233 shares during the quarter. Amundi owned about 1.17% of Graco worth $164,572,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Graco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $161,949,000. Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in Graco by 1,636.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,011,196 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $82,888,000 after buying an additional 952,977 shares during the last quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec lifted its holdings in shares of Graco by 236.4% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec now owns 1,279,553 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $108,711,000 after buying an additional 899,174 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Graco by 20,706.4% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 556,362 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $45,605,000 after buying an additional 553,688 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of Graco by 80.6% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 954,347 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $80,785,000 after acquiring an additional 426,001 shares during the period. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird set a $94.00 target price on Graco in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Graco from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Graco from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Graco from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Graco in a report on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $95.00.

Graco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GGG opened at $80.08 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $75.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $82.54. The stock has a market cap of $12.97 billion, a PE ratio of 25.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.93. Graco Inc. has a 1 year low of $72.51 and a 1 year high of $95.69.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $590.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $608.06 million. Graco had a net margin of 23.53% and a return on equity of 19.54%. Graco's revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.75 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.22 EPS for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 20th will be given a $0.295 dividend. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 20th. Graco's payout ratio is presently 37.11%.

Graco Company Profile

Graco Inc is a leading manufacturer of fluid handling systems and components, headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded in 1926, the company has built a reputation for innovation in spray finishing, lubrication, and fluid management technologies. Graco's solutions are designed to address the needs of paint and coatings applicators, general industry, and process fluids in a variety of end markets.

The company's product portfolio includes airless and air-assisted spray equipment, pumps for oil and gas applications, industrial lubrication systems, and automated dispensing equipment.

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