Narwhal Capital Management Trims Position in Graco Inc. $GGG

Narwhal Capital Management lessened its stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 8.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 82,381 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 7,630 shares during the period. Narwhal Capital Management’s holdings in Graco were worth $7,082,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its position in shares of Graco by 41.5% in the 2nd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 481 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC raised its position in shares of Graco by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 6,347 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $530,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Graco by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. now owns 23,084 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,927,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Optas LLC raised its position in shares of Graco by 6.0% in the 1st quarter. Optas LLC now owns 3,560 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Resonant Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Graco by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,843 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $321,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Graco Trading Up 0.2%

GGG opened at $83.59 on Thursday. Graco Inc. has a 12-month low of $72.06 and a 12-month high of $92.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.85 billion, a PE ratio of 29.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $84.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $84.12.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $571.81 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $590.57 million. Graco had a net margin of 22.26% and a return on equity of 19.05%. Graco’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.77 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 20th. Graco’s payout ratio is 39.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on GGG shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Graco in a research report on Wednesday. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Graco in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Finally, 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.50.

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.