Northern Trust Corp Reduces Holdings in Graco Inc. $GGG

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp has decreased its stake in Graco Inc. by 0.5% in the first quarter, now holding approximately 1.15% of the company valued at $160.37 million.
• Graco reported earnings of $0.75 per share for the last quarter, missing expectations of $0.78 per share, with a net revenue of $571.81 million.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.275 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend of $1.10 and a yield of 1.3%.

Northern Trust Corp lowered its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 0.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,920,359 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 9,593 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned about 1.15% of Graco worth $160,369,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of GGG. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Graco by 76.0% in the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,147,341 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $96,709,000 after acquiring an additional 495,293 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its position 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 worth $126,196,000 after acquiring an additional 486,277 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Graco by 9,453.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 400,180 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $33,419,000 after acquiring an additional 395,991 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Graco in the fourth quarter worth about $27,478,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Graco in the first quarter worth about $26,540,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.88% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on GGG shares. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective 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. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Graco in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $94.50.

Graco Price Performance

NYSE GGG traded up $0.50 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $87.21. 228,152 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 815,637. Graco Inc. has a 52-week low of $72.06 and a 52-week high of $92.86. The company has a market capitalization of $14.45 billion, a PE ratio of 30.94, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.04. The firm's 50-day moving average is $85.82 and its 200-day moving average is $84.21.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 22.26% and a return on equity of 19.05%. The business had revenue of $571.81 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $590.57 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.77 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

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

Graco Company 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.