Graco Inc. $GGG Shares Sold by Champlain Investment Partners LLC

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 holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 22.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and 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 0.65% of Graco worth $90,906,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of GGG. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings 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 worth $162,676,000 after purchasing an additional 518,462 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its holdings in Graco by 76.0% in the 4th 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 period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Graco by 9,453.1% in the 1st 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 period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new position in Graco in the 4th quarter worth about $27,478,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Graco in the 1st quarter worth about $26,540,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.88% of the company's stock.

Graco Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of Graco stock traded down $0.80 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $85.31. 578,971 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 668,478. The business has a 50-day moving average of $85.93 and a 200 day moving average of $84.21. Graco Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $72.06 and a fifty-two week high of $92.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.14 billion, a PE ratio of 30.25, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.03.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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). Graco had a net margin of 22.26% and a return on equity of 19.05%. The firm had revenue of $571.81 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $590.57 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.77 EPS. Graco's revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on GGG shares. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Graco from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Graco in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.