Bank of America Corp DE Has $54.12 Million Stock Holdings in Graco Inc. $GGG

Key Points

• Bank of America reduced its Graco stake by 23.3% in the first quarter, selling 194,464 shares and retaining 639,350 shares worth approximately $54.12 million. Institutional investors collectively own 93.88% of Graco’s stock.
• Graco beat quarterly earnings expectations with EPS of $0.91 versus the $0.81 consensus, while revenue rose 3.3% year over year to $590.55 million but fell short of estimates.
• Analysts maintain a generally neutral outlook, with an average “Hold” rating and a $95 price target. Graco also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.295, equivalent to a 1.4% annualized yield.

Bank of America Corp DE decreased its position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 23.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 639,350 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 194,464 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 0.39% of Graco worth $54,121,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Graco in the 4th quarter valued at about $161,949,000. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in Graco by 1,636.9% in 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 acquiring an additional 952,977 shares in the last quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 899,174 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew 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 worth $45,605,000 after purchasing an additional 553,688 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of Graco by 80.6% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 954,347 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $80,785,000 after purchasing an additional 426,001 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.88% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Graco Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE GGG opened at $83.45 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $13.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.24, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.92. Graco Inc. has a 12 month low of $72.51 and a 12 month high of $95.69. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $76.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $82.29.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 the consensus estimate of $608.06 million. Graco had a net margin of 23.53% and a return on equity of 19.54%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.75 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 20th were paid a $0.295 dividend. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 20th. Graco's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.11%.

About Graco

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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