Graco Inc. $GGG Shares Sold by Prudential PLC

Key Points

• Prudential PLC has reduced its stake in Graco Inc. by 5.5%, selling 3,145 shares, which leaves them holding 54,378 shares valued at approximately $4.54 million.
• Graco's quarterly earnings report showed an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.75, missing estimates, alongside revenues of $571.81 million, which were below expectations of $590.57 million.
• The company's recent dividend of $0.275 per share translates to an annualized yield of 1.3% with a dividend payout ratio of 39.01%.

Prudential PLC trimmed its holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 5.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 54,378 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 3,145 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC's holdings in Graco were worth $4,541,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GGG. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Graco in the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Graco by 128.9% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 689 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas grew its holdings in shares of Graco by 43.6% during the first 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. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. acquired a new stake in shares of Graco during the first quarter worth about $140,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of Graco by 21.1% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,834 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $153,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares during the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Graco in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Graco from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $94.50.

Graco Stock Performance

Graco stock traded up $0.17 during trading on Monday, reaching $84.57. The company had a trading volume of 144,910 shares, compared to its average volume of 819,695. Graco Inc. has a 12-month low of $72.06 and a 12-month high of $92.86. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $85.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $84.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.00, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.04.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $571.81 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $590.57 million. Graco had a net margin of 22.26% and a return on equity of 19.05%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.77 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

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