Values First Advisors Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Graco Inc. $GGG

Values First Advisors Inc. reduced its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 7.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,465 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,619 shares during the quarter. Graco comprises about 1.0% of Values First Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Values First Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Graco were worth $1,845,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in Graco by 149.5% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 4,992 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $416,000 after purchasing an additional 2,991 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Graco by 13.8% during the 1st quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 70,117 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,855,000 after purchasing an additional 8,490 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Graco during the 1st quarter valued at about $2,335,000. Novem Group increased its position in shares of Graco by 34.5% during the 1st quarter. Novem Group now owns 11,900 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $994,000 after purchasing an additional 3,052 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP grew its stake in shares of Graco by 59.4% during the 1st quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 16,677 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,393,000 after acquiring an additional 6,216 shares during the period. 93.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on GGG shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Graco in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Graco from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.50.

Graco Stock Performance

GGG opened at $81.46 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $13.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.89, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.07. Graco Inc. has a one year low of $72.06 and a one year high of $92.86. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $84.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $84.01.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by ($0.03). The firm 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 period last year, the company earned $0.77 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 5th. Investors of record on Monday, October 20th will be issued a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 20th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.01%.

Graco 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.