Inspire Investing LLC Sells 472 Shares of Graco Inc. $GGG

Inspire Investing LLC cut its holdings in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 12.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,259 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 472 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in Graco were worth $280,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Graco by 572.1% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 437,661 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,549,000 after acquiring an additional 372,543 shares during the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Graco by 9.1% in the second quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,911,372 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $336,261,000 after purchasing an additional 326,877 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Graco during the 1st quarter worth $26,540,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in Graco by 225.4% during the 1st quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 223,569 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $18,670,000 after buying an additional 154,853 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in shares of Graco by 12.3% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,337,457 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $111,691,000 after buying an additional 146,424 shares during the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Graco Price Performance

Shares of Graco stock opened at $82.36 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $84.62 and its 200 day moving average is $84.00. Graco Inc. has a one year low of $72.06 and a one year high of $92.86. The firm has a market cap of $13.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.21, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.07.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last issued 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). The business had revenue of $571.81 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $590.57 million. Graco had a return on equity of 19.05% and a net margin of 22.26%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.77 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Graco in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Graco from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Graco presently has a consensus 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.