Gabelli Funds LLC Decreases Stake in Graco Inc. $GGG

Key Points

• Gabelli Funds LLC has reduced its stake in Graco Inc. by 1.0%, now holding 627,300 shares valued at approximately $52.4 million.
• Graco reported earnings of $0.75 per share for the most recent quarter, falling short of analysts' expectations of $0.78.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.275 per share, representing an annualized yield of 1.3% with a payout ratio of 39.01%.

Gabelli Funds LLC decreased its holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 1.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 627,300 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 6,100 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC owned approximately 0.38% of Graco worth $52,386,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GGG. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Graco by 2.7% during the first quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 6,347 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $530,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Graco by 0.8% during the first quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. now owns 23,084 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,927,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Optas LLC raised its holdings in shares of Graco by 6.0% during the first quarter. Optas LLC now owns 3,560 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Graco by 5.5% in the first quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,843 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $321,000 after buying an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trail Ridge Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Graco by 3.9% in the first quarter. Trail Ridge Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,654 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $472,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. 93.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Graco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GGG traded down $0.80 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $85.31. 578,971 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 814,293. The company has a market cap of $14.14 billion, a PE ratio of 30.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.04. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $85.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $84.23. Graco Inc. has a 1-year low of $72.06 and a 1-year high of $92.86.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.78 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $571.81 million during 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%. The firm's revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.77 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 21st. Graco's payout ratio is 39.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on GGG. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Graco from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Graco in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. They set 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.com, Graco currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $94.50.

About Graco

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.