Benjamin Edwards Inc. Sells 5,148 Shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Key Points

• Benjamin Edwards Inc. reduced its stake in Graco Inc. by 6.2%, owning 78,188 shares worth approximately $6.53 million.
• Graco reported a quarterly EPS of $0.75, missing expectations of $0.78, with revenue of $571.81 million compared to the forecast of $590.57 million.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.275 per share, yielding 1.3%, with a payout ratio of 39.01%.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. cut its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 6.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 78,188 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 5,148 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s holdings in Graco were worth $6,530,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 518,462 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Graco by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,800,167 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $151,736,000 after buying an additional 29,224 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Graco by 48.1% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,497,164 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $126,196,000 after buying an additional 486,277 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Graco by 7.2% in 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 valued at $100,392,000 after buying an additional 79,881 shares in the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Graco Stock Up 2.6%

Shares of GGG traded up $2.15 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $85.31. 741,847 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 792,808. Graco Inc. has a twelve month low of $72.06 and a twelve month high of $92.86. The company has a market cap of $14.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.25, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.04. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $85.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $84.08.

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 for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $590.57 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.77 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 21st. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Graco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on GGG. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Graco from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Graco in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.