California State Teachers Retirement System Decreases Position in Graco Inc. $GGG

California State Teachers Retirement System trimmed its holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 8.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 271,033 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 25,788 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.17% of Graco worth $20,492,805 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GGG. Saudi Central Bank raised its position in shares of Graco by 89.6% during the 2nd quarter. Saudi Central Bank now owns 11,604 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $877,000 after purchasing an additional 5,484 shares during the last quarter. Maren Capital LLC boosted its position in Graco by 30.5% during the second quarter. Maren Capital LLC now owns 1,020,271 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $77,143,000 after purchasing an additional 238,487 shares during the last quarter. AlphaGrep UK Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Graco during the second quarter worth approximately $294,000. Old Mission Investment Co LLC bought a new position in Graco during the 2nd quarter valued at about $246,000. Finally, Raiffeisen Bank International AG grew its stake in shares of Graco by 124.1% during the second quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 269,400 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $20,372,000 after purchasing an additional 149,190 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.88% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on GGG. DA Davidson reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Graco in a report on Monday, July 27th. Wolfe Research downgraded Graco from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Graco from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Robert W. Baird set a $94.00 price objective on shares of Graco in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Graco from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $95.00.

Graco Stock Performance

Graco stock traded up $0.22 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $76.76. 402,108 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,388,458. Graco Inc. has a 12 month low of $72.51 and a 12 month high of $95.69. The business's 50-day moving average is $78.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $80.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.92.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $608.06 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.75 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.19 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 19th will be given a dividend of $0.295 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 19th. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Graco's payout ratio is presently 37.11%.

Graco Profile

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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