Corient Private Wealth LP Sells 88,340 Shares of Graco Inc. $GGG

Key Points

• Corient Private Wealth cut its Graco stake by 74.4% in the second quarter, selling 88,340 shares and retaining 30,418 shares valued at approximately $2.3 million. Institutional investors collectively own 93.88% of Graco.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious, with Graco carrying an average “Hold” rating and a $95 price target. Recent opinions included an RBC upgrade to “outperform” and Wolfe Research’s downgrade to “peer perform.”
• 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. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.295 per share, representing a 1.5% yield.

Corient Private Wealth LP decreased its stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 74.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 30,418 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 88,340 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LP's holdings in Graco were worth $2,300,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Graco during the second quarter worth $1,396,470,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Graco by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,652,241 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $380,642,000 after acquiring an additional 261,126 shares during the period. Amundi grew its position in shares of Graco by 7.5% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 2,090,184 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $158,039,000 after acquiring an additional 146,032 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Graco during the 4th quarter worth about $161,949,000. Finally, Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec acquired a new position in shares of Graco during the 2nd quarter worth about $141,667,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.88% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GGG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Graco from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Wolfe Research cut Graco from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Robert W. Baird set a $94.00 target price on Graco in a research note on Friday, July 24th. DA Davidson reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Graco in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Graco from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $95.00.

Graco Stock Performance

GGG opened at $77.72 on Wednesday. Graco Inc. has a 52-week low of $72.51 and a 52-week high of $95.69. The firm has a market cap of $12.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.92. The business's fifty day moving average is $78.89 and its 200-day moving average is $79.56.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $590.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $608.06 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.75 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 4th. Investors of record on Monday, October 19th will be paid a $0.295 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 19th. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Graco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.11%.

About Graco

Graco Inc is a manufacturer of equipment used to manage, measure, control and apply fluids and coatings. Its products include pumps, valves, meters, regulators, dispensing systems, spray equipment and automated lubrication systems used in manufacturing, construction, vehicle service and other industrial applications.

The company serves a range of end markets through businesses focused on contractor equipment, industrial systems and process equipment. Its offerings support applications such as painting and protective coatings, sealant and adhesive dispensing, lubrication, fluid transfer, water and wastewater treatment, and the handling of chemicals and other materials.

Founded in Minneapolis in 1926, Graco traces its origins to equipment developed for dispensing automotive grease.

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