Confluence Investment Management LLC Has $41.52 Million Position in Graco Inc. $GGG

Key Points

• Confluence Investment Management reduced its Graco position by 6.3% in the second quarter, selling 36,612 shares and retaining 549,102 shares valued at approximately $41.5 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.88% of Graco’s outstanding stock.
• Graco exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.91 in earnings per share versus the $0.81 consensus, while revenue rose 3.3% year over year to $590.55 million but fell short of estimates.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.295 per share, equivalent to an annualized $1.18 dividend and a 1.5% yield. Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with a $95 target price, compared with the stock’s recent price of $80.23.

Confluence Investment Management LLC cut its position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 549,102 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 36,612 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC owned 0.33% of Graco worth $41,518,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of GGG. Ballast Advisors LLC bought a new position in Graco during the first quarter worth about $74,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Graco by 26.4% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 288,315 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $24,406,000 after acquiring an additional 60,271 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Graco by 34.8% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 8,217 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $696,000 after purchasing an additional 2,122 shares during the period. Essential Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Graco by 78.6% during the 1st quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 359 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in Graco during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,775,000. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Graco Stock Performance

GGG opened at $80.23 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $12.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.93. The business's fifty day moving average is $75.67 and its 200-day moving average is $82.46. Graco Inc. has a 52-week low of $72.51 and a 52-week high of $95.69.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.10. Graco had a net margin of 23.53% and a return on equity of 19.54%. The business had revenue of $590.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $608.06 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.75 earnings per share. Graco's revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Investors of record on Monday, July 20th will be paid a $0.295 dividend. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 20th. Graco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GGG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wolfe Research cut shares of Graco from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Graco from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird set a $94.00 price objective on shares of Graco in a report on Friday, July 24th. DA Davidson restated a "neutral" rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Graco in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Graco from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $95.00.

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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