Confluence Investment Management LLC Cuts Stake in Graco Inc. $GGG

Confluence Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 35.8% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 352,592 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 196,510 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Graco were worth $27,093,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Graco in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,396,470,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Graco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $161,949,000. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec bought a new position in shares of Graco during the second quarter valued at approximately $141,667,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in Graco in the second quarter worth $100,157,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Graco in the second quarter valued at $97,625,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on GGG shares. Robert W. Baird set a $94.00 price objective on shares of Graco in a research report on Friday, July 24th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Graco in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Graco from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Graco from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Graco from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Graco currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $95.00.

Graco Price Performance

GGG stock traded up $0.67 on Thursday, reaching $77.50. 278,779 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,402,672. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $79.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $79.10. The company has a market cap of $12.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.92. Graco Inc. has a one year low of $72.51 and a one year high of $95.69.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.10. Graco had a return on equity of 19.54% and a net margin of 23.53%.The business had revenue of $590.55 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $608.06 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.75 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 3.21 EPS for the current year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 19th will be given a $0.2950 dividend. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 19th. Graco’s payout ratio is currently 37.11%.

About Graco

Graco Inc is a Minneapolis-based manufacturer of equipment used to manage, measure, control and apply fluids and coatings. Its products are used in industrial, commercial and residential applications, including fluid handling, lubrication, dispensing, sealing, bonding, painting and corrosion protection.

The company’s product portfolio includes pumps, valves, meters, regulators, controls, proportioning systems and spray equipment. Graco also supplies equipment for paint and texture application, protective coatings, sealants and adhesives, vehicle servicing, and the automated lubrication of machinery.