HighTower Advisors LLC Cuts Position in Graco Inc. $GGG

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors reduced its Graco position by 16.7% in the second quarter, selling 63,952 shares and retaining 318,523 shares valued at approximately $24.1 million.
• Institutional ownership remains very high at 93.88%, with California State Teachers Retirement System significantly increasing its stake and BlackRock and several other large institutions initiating positions.
• Graco reported quarterly EPS of $0.91, beating estimates by $0.10, while revenue of $590.55 million missed expectations. Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $95, and the company pays a $0.295 quarterly dividend.

HighTower Advisors LLC lessened its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 16.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 318,523 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 63,952 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.20% of Graco worth $24,084,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in Graco by 6,804.1% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 20,492,805 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,549,461,000 after acquiring an additional 20,195,984 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Graco during the second quarter worth about $1,396,470,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Graco in the 4th quarter valued at $161,949,000. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec purchased a new stake in Graco during the second quarter valued at about $141,667,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in Graco in the 2nd quarter valued at $100,157,000. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Graco Trading Down 1.0%

Graco stock opened at $77.08 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $12.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.24, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.92. The company's 50-day moving average price is $78.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $80.72. Graco Inc. has a 52 week low of $72.51 and a 52 week high of $95.69.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $590.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $608.06 million. Graco had a return on equity of 19.54% and a net margin of 23.53%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.75 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Investors of record on Monday, July 20th were issued a dividend of $0.295 per share. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 20th. Graco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GGG has been the topic of several analyst reports. DA Davidson reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Graco in a report on Monday, July 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Graco from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Graco from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Wolfe Research lowered Graco from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $94.00 target price on Graco in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $95.00.

Graco Company Profile

Graco Inc is a leading manufacturer of fluid handling systems and components, headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded in 1926, the company has built a reputation for innovation in spray finishing, lubrication, and fluid management technologies. Graco's solutions are designed to address the needs of paint and coatings applicators, general industry, and process fluids in a variety of end markets.

The company's product portfolio includes airless and air-assisted spray equipment, pumps for oil and gas applications, industrial lubrication systems, and automated dispensing equipment.

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