Graco Inc. $GGG Shares Sold by T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc.

Key Points

• T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. has reduced its holdings in Graco Inc. by 63.6%, selling 952,353 shares in the first quarter and retaining 544,811 shares valued at approximately $45.5 million.
• Graco recently reported its earnings, with a miss on EPS at $0.75 compared to the expected $0.78, and revenue of $571.81 million, below the anticipated $590.57 million.
• The company's quarterly dividend of $0.275 per share reflects an annualized dividend yield of 1.3%, with a dividend payout ratio of 39.01%.

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 63.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 544,811 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 952,353 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned 0.33% of Graco worth $45,498,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Graco by 101.9% during the first quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 56,928 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $4,754,000 after buying an additional 28,730 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Graco during the first quarter valued at $9,450,000. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Graco by 12.1% during the first quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 82,466 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $6,887,000 after buying an additional 8,899 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its holdings in shares of Graco by 92.6% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Graco by 6.9% during the first quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 952,011 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $79,502,000 after buying an additional 61,517 shares during the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Graco Stock Up 3.1%

GGG stock opened at $87.3110 on Friday. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $85.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $84.18. Graco Inc. has a 52-week low of $72.06 and a 52-week high of $92.86. The firm has a market cap of $14.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.96, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.04.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 firm 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 company earned $0.77 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st were paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 21st. Graco's dividend payout ratio is presently 39.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on GGG shares. Robert W. Baird boosted 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 shares of Graco in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently 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.

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