Graco Inc. $GGG Stake Trimmed by Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super

Key Points

• Aware Super cut its Graco stake by 69% in the third quarter, selling 173,326 shares and retaining 77,924 shares valued at about $6.0 million.
• Graco reported quarterly EPS of $0.81 and revenue of $586.4 million, both below analyst estimates; however, revenue rose 7.9% year over year.
• Analysts’ consensus rating was Hold, with an average price target of $87.40; three analysts rated the stock Buy and five rated it Hold.

Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super trimmed its position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 69.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 77,924 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 173,326 shares during the quarter. Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super's holdings in Graco were worth $5,988,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Graco during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $16,632,000. Nykredit A S purchased a new position in shares of Graco in the second quarter valued at approximately $6,051,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in shares of Graco in the second quarter valued at approximately $100,157,000. Amundi boosted its stake in shares of Graco by 7.5% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 2,090,184 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $158,039,000 after acquiring an additional 146,032 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Graco in the second quarter worth approximately $57,954,000. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on GGG. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $82.00 price objective (down from $95.00) on shares of Graco in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Graco from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price target on shares of Graco from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. DA Davidson restated a "neutral" rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Graco in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Graco in a research note on Monday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $87.40.

Graco Price Performance

Shares of GGG opened at $69.15 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $76.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $80.90. The stock has a market cap of $11.09 billion, a PE ratio of 22.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.89. Graco Inc. has a 1-year low of $65.96 and a 1-year high of $95.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 2.12 and a quick ratio of 1.24.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The industrial products company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.83 by ($0.02). Graco had a net margin of 22.40% and a return on equity of 20.13%. The firm had revenue of $586.39 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $590.17 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.73 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 3.20 EPS for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.2950 per share. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 19th. Graco's payout ratio is 37.94%.

Graco Profile

Graco Inc is a global manufacturer of equipment used to move, measure, control, dispense and apply fluids and other materials. Its products are used in industrial, commercial and residential applications involving paints, coatings, sealants, adhesives, lubricants, chemicals and other fluids.

The company's product portfolio includes pumps, valves, meters, regulators, fluid-management systems, lubrication equipment, spray-applied coating and finishing systems, sealant and adhesive equipment, and contractor-oriented painting and texture application tools.

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