Baillie Gifford & Co. Has $8.72 Million Stock Position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Key Points

• Baillie Gifford & Co. has reduced its stake in Graco Inc. by 22.6%, selling 30,532 shares in the first quarter, leaving it with 104,413 shares valued at approximately $8.72 million.
• Graco's latest earnings report revealed an EPS of $0.75, falling short of analysts' expectations, with revenues of $571.81 million, lower than predicted.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.275 per share, set to be paid on August 6th, representing an annualized yield of 1.30%.

Baillie Gifford & Co. lessened its holdings in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 22.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 104,413 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 30,532 shares during the quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. owned approximately 0.06% of Graco worth $8,720,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Graco by 365.8% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 115,322 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $9,631,000 after acquiring an additional 90,564 shares during the period. Machina Capital S.A.S. acquired a new position in shares of Graco during the first quarter worth about $320,000. AE Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Graco by 14.0% during the first quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 237,563 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $19,839,000 after buying an additional 29,209 shares in the last quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Graco by 9.8% during the first quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC now owns 497,585 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $41,553,000 after buying an additional 44,399 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Accredited Investors Inc. grew its position in shares of Graco by 2.1% during the first quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 24,907 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,080,000 after buying an additional 506 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.88% of the company's stock.

Graco Stock Performance

NYSE:GGG traded down $0.45 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $84.13. The company's stock had a trading volume of 145,274 shares, compared to its average volume of 831,234. The business's 50-day moving average is $85.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.16. The company has a market capitalization of $13.94 billion, a PE ratio of 29.82, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.06. Graco Inc. has a 52-week low of $72.06 and a 52-week high of $92.86.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $571.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $590.57 million. Graco had a return on equity of 19.05% and a net margin of 22.26%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business 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 company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be paid a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. Graco's dividend payout ratio is presently 39.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on GGG shares. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Graco in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Graco from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $94.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,588 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.23, for a total transaction of $309,393.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 27,520 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,373,049.60. The trade was a 11.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.19% of the company's stock.

Graco Company 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.