Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Sells 9,825 Shares of Graco Inc. $GGG

Key Points

• Gamco Investors INC. ET AL has reduced its stake in Graco Inc. by 1.3%, selling 9,825 shares, and now holds approximately 730,662 shares.
• Analysts have given Graco a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” with an average target price of $94.50, following recent upgrades and coverage initiations.
• Graco Inc. declared a quarterly dividend of $0.275 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 1.3%.

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lowered its holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 1.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 730,662 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 9,825 shares during the period. Graco comprises 0.7% of Gamco Investors INC. ET AL's holdings, making the stock its 29th largest position. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL owned approximately 0.44% of Graco worth $61,018,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in Graco by 149.5% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 4,992 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $416,000 after purchasing an additional 2,991 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Graco by 13.8% in the first quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 70,117 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,855,000 after purchasing an additional 8,490 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Graco in the first quarter worth $2,335,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in Graco by 150.6% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 7,998 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $675,000 after purchasing an additional 4,806 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Novem Group boosted its position in Graco by 34.5% in the first quarter. Novem Group now owns 11,900 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $994,000 after purchasing an additional 3,052 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.88% of the company's stock.

Graco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GGG traded down $0.80 during trading on Friday, reaching $85.31. 578,971 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 672,850. Graco Inc. has a 52-week low of $72.06 and a 52-week high of $92.86. The company has a 50-day moving average of $85.93 and a 200-day moving average of $84.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.04.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.75 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 firm had revenue of $571.81 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $590.57 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.77 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect 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 paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 21st. Graco's payout ratio is presently 39.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on GGG. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Graco in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Graco from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, Graco presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $94.50.

Graco 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.