Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Shares Sold by Assetmark Inc.

Key Points

• Assetmark Inc. reduced its holdings in Graco Inc. by 93.3% in Q1, owning only 1,240 shares after selling 17,365 shares.
• Graco Inc. reported Q2 earnings with an EPS of $0.75, missing expectations of $0.78, and a revenue of $571.81 million compared to the forecast of $590.57 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.275 per share, with a payout ratio of 39.01% and a yield of 1.3%.

Assetmark Inc. cut its stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 93.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,240 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 17,365 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc.'s holdings in Graco were worth $104,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Graco in the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Graco by 128.9% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 689 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. Sit Investment Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Graco during the 4th quarter worth about $80,000. USA Financial Formulas boosted its stake in shares of Graco by 43.6% during the 1st quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 1,057 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of Graco by 21.1% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,834 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $153,000 after acquiring an additional 319 shares during the period. 93.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GGG has been the topic of several research reports. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Graco in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Graco from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $94.50.

Insider Transactions at Graco

In related news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,588 shares of Graco stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.23, for a total transaction of $309,393.24. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 27,520 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,373,049.60. The trade was a 11.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 2.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Graco Trading Down 0.4%

Graco stock traded down $0.34 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $83.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 257,268 shares, compared to its average volume of 828,352. The firm has a market cap of $13.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.65, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.04. Graco Inc. has a twelve month low of $72.06 and a twelve month high of $92.86. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $85.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $84.13.

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 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 company had revenue of $571.81 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $590.57 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.77 earnings per share. Graco's revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

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

About Graco

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.