Graco Inc. $GGG Shares Sold by Ameriprise Financial Inc.

Key Points

• Ameriprise Financial Inc. has reduced its holdings in Graco Inc. by 13.5%, now owning approximately 0.35% of the company valued at $48.6 million by the end of the reporting period.
• Graco reported quarterly earnings of $0.75 per share, which was below consensus estimates of $0.78, along with revenue of $571.81 million, falling short of expectations.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.275 per share, reflecting an annual yield of 1.3% and a payout ratio of 39.01%.

Ameriprise Financial Inc. reduced its position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 13.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 582,526 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 90,714 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned about 0.35% of Graco worth $48,655,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GGG. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Graco by 2.7% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,390,940 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $199,667,000 after buying an additional 62,761 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Graco by 36.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,929,952 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $162,676,000 after purchasing an additional 518,462 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Graco by 1.6% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,828,962 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $152,737,000 after purchasing an additional 28,795 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Graco by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,191,033 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $100,392,000 after purchasing an additional 79,881 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in Graco by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 1,166,270 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $98,305,000 after purchasing an additional 65,399 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.88% of the company's stock.

Graco Price Performance

GGG stock opened at $87.16 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $14.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $85.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $84.23. 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.03). Graco had a return on equity of 19.05% and a net margin of 22.26%.The business had revenue of $571.81 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $590.57 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.77 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Shareholders 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 39.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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