Graco Inc. $GGG Shares Sold by Epoch Investment Partners Inc.

Key Points

• Epoch Investment Partners Inc. has reduced its stake in Graco Inc. by 5.3%, now holding approximately 435,154 shares, valued at about $36.34 million.
• Graco recently reported $571.81 million in revenue for its last quarter, which was below analyst estimates, and posted a 3.4% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• Analysts have a current average target price of $94.50 for Graco, with many rating it as a "Moderate Buy."

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 5.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 435,154 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 24,184 shares during the quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. owned approximately 0.26% of Graco worth $36,340,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of GGG. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 518,462 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Graco by 76.0% during the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,147,341 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $96,709,000 after buying an additional 495,293 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 395,991 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new position in Graco in the 4th quarter valued at $27,478,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Graco during the first quarter worth $26,540,000. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GGG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Graco from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Graco in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $94.50.

Graco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GGG traded down $0.80 during trading on Monday, hitting $85.31. The company's stock had a trading volume of 578,971 shares, compared to its average volume of 668,478. Graco Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $72.06 and a fifty-two week high of $92.86. The company 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. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $85.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $84.21.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.75 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $571.81 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $590.57 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.77 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

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

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.