Champlain Investment Partners LLC Has $90.91 Million Stock Holdings in Graco Inc. $GGG

Key Points

• Champlain Investment Partners LLC reduced its stake in Graco Inc. by 22.7% in the first quarter, now holding 1,088,567 shares valued at approximately $90.9 million.
• Graco's latest earnings report showed a missed EPS estimate of $0.75 compared to the expected $0.78, with revenues also falling short at $571.81 million.
• The stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” among analysts, with an average target price of $94.50.

Champlain Investment Partners LLC decreased its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 22.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,088,567 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 320,565 shares during the quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC owned approximately 0.65% of Graco worth $90,906,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GGG. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG increased its position in Graco by 13.8% during the first quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG now owns 15,947 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,332,000 after acquiring an additional 1,931 shares during the period. FORA Capital LLC increased its position in Graco by 41.9% during the first quarter. FORA Capital LLC now owns 3,699 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $309,000 after acquiring an additional 1,092 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec bought a new position in Graco during the first quarter worth $2,495,000. Comerica Bank increased its position in Graco by 10.7% during the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 126,516 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $10,565,000 after acquiring an additional 12,228 shares during the period. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp bought a new position in Graco during the first quarter worth $352,000. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company's stock.

Graco Stock Down 0.9%

Graco stock traded down $0.80 on Friday, hitting $85.31. The company's stock had a trading volume of 578,971 shares, compared to its average volume of 672,850. Graco Inc. has a one year low of $72.06 and a one year high of $92.86. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $85.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $84.23. The firm has a market cap of $14.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.04.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.75 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 prior year, the firm posted $0.77 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st were paid a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 21st. Graco's payout ratio is currently 39.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Graco from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Graco in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Graco presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $94.50.

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.