Baird Financial Group Inc. Sells 260,514 Shares of Graco Inc. $GGG

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group cut its Graco position by 95.2% in the second quarter, selling 260,514 shares and retaining 13,066 shares valued at approximately $988,000. Institutional investors collectively own 93.88% of Graco’s stock.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: Graco has a consensus “Hold” rating and a $95 average price target, while Wolfe Research downgraded the stock to “Peer Perform” and RBC raised its target to $96.
• Graco reported quarterly EPS of $0.91, exceeding expectations of $0.81, while revenue rose 3.3% year over year to $590.55 million but fell short of estimates. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.295 per share, representing a 1.5% annualized yield.

Baird Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 95.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,066 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 260,514 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Graco were worth $988,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Root Financial Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Graco by 43.2% during the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 504 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Essential Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Graco by 78.6% during the 1st quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 359 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. CWS Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Graco by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. CWS Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,022 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $594,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Aristides Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Graco by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Aristides Capital LLC now owns 4,720 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $387,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the period. Finally, Fulton Bank N.A. raised its holdings in shares of Graco by 5.0% during the second quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 5,270 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $398,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on GGG shares. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Graco from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Robert W. Baird set a $94.00 target price on Graco in a report on Friday, July 24th. DA Davidson reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Graco in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Graco from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Graco from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Graco presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $95.00.

Graco Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE GGG opened at $76.21 on Friday. Graco Inc. has a 12 month low of $72.51 and a 12 month high of $95.69. The stock has a market cap of $12.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.96, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.92. The company's 50 day moving average is $78.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $79.88.

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. Sell-side analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 3.21 EPS for the current year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 4th. Investors of record on Monday, October 19th will be issued a $0.295 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 19th. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Graco's payout ratio is currently 37.11%.

Graco Profile

Graco Inc is a manufacturer of equipment used to manage, measure, control and apply fluids and coatings. Its products include pumps, valves, meters, regulators, dispensing systems, spray equipment and automated lubrication systems used in manufacturing, construction, vehicle service and other industrial applications.

The company serves a range of end markets through businesses focused on contractor equipment, industrial systems and process equipment. Its offerings support applications such as painting and protective coatings, sealant and adhesive dispensing, lubrication, fluid transfer, water and wastewater treatment, and the handling of chemicals and other materials.

Founded in Minneapolis in 1926, Graco traces its origins to equipment developed for dispensing automotive grease.

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