Capital Fund Management S.A. Has $3.69 Million Stock Holdings in Graco Inc. $GGG

Key Points

• Capital Fund Management S.A. reduced its stake in Graco Inc. by 26.9%, now holding 44,157 shares worth approximately $3.69 million.
• Graco reported $0.75 EPS for the last quarter, missing estimates, with revenue of $571.81 million, a 3.4% increase year-over-year.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.275 per share, representing a 1.3% yield and a payout ratio of 39.01%.

Capital Fund Management S.A. lessened its stake in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 26.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 44,157 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 16,284 shares during the quarter. Capital Fund Management S.A.'s holdings in Graco were worth $3,688,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of GGG. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Graco by 36.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,929,952 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $162,676,000 after acquiring an additional 518,462 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Graco by 76.0% in the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,147,341 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $96,709,000 after purchasing an additional 495,293 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Graco by 9,453.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 400,180 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $33,419,000 after purchasing an additional 395,991 shares during the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new position in Graco during the 4th quarter worth $27,478,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Graco during the 1st quarter worth $26,540,000. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Wolfe Research began coverage on Graco in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Graco from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $94.50.

Graco Trading Up 0.5%

GGG stock traded up $0.45 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $87.16. The stock had a trading volume of 647,150 shares, compared to its average volume of 818,265. The firm has a market cap of $14.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.04. Graco Inc. has a 1-year low of $72.06 and a 1-year high of $92.86. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $85.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $84.21.

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

Graco Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st were issued a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 21st. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Graco's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.