First Manhattan CO. LLC. Sells 4,978 Shares of Graco Inc. $GGG

Key Points

• First Manhattan Co. LLC reduced its stake in Graco Inc. by 1.5%, now holding approximately 318,731 shares valued at $26.62 million.
• Graco reported earnings per share of $0.75, which fell short of expectations, along with revenue of $571.81 million for the quarter.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.275 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 1.3%.

First Manhattan CO. LLC. lowered its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 1.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 318,731 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 4,978 shares during the period. First Manhattan CO. LLC. owned 0.19% of Graco worth $26,617,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in GGG. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Graco in the first quarter valued at $41,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Graco in the fourth quarter valued at $46,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Graco by 128.9% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 689 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service lifted its stake in shares of Graco by 74.8% in the first quarter. National Pension Service now owns 699 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its stake in shares of Graco by 92.6% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 932 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $78,000 after buying an additional 448 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on GGG shares. Wolfe Research began coverage on Graco in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $94.50.

Graco Stock Up 1.9%

NYSE:GGG traded up $1.64 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $86.15. 457,332 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 807,315. The business's 50-day moving average price is $85.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $84.21. The company has a market cap of $14.27 billion, a PE ratio of 30.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.03. Graco Inc. has a 12-month low of $72.06 and a 12-month high of $92.86.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $571.81 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $590.57 million. Graco had a net margin of 22.26% and a return on equity of 19.05%. Graco's revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.77 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st were paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 21st. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend 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.