Graco Inc. $GGG Shares Sold by Retirement Systems of Alabama

Retirement Systems of Alabama cut its holdings in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 15.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 308,588 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 57,637 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Graco were worth $26,529,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. eCIO Inc. purchased a new position in Graco during the 1st quarter worth $32,000. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Graco during the first quarter worth about $41,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Graco by 41.5% during the second quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 481 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Graco by 982.6% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 498 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 452 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH acquired a new position in Graco in the 2nd quarter valued at about $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on GGG shares. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Graco in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Weiss Ratings downgraded Graco from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Saturday, October 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $89.00 price objective on shares of Graco in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Graco presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.00.

Graco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GGG opened at $80.72 on Friday. Graco Inc. has a one year low of $72.06 and a one year high of $92.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.55, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s fifty day moving average is $84.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.29.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.75 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $543.36 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $563.07 million. Graco had a net margin of 22.72% and a return on equity of 18.89%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.71 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 20th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Graco’s payout ratio is 37.54%.

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.