USA Financial Formulas Decreases Stock Holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

USA Financial Formulas cut its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 14.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 827 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 141 shares during the quarter. USA Financial Formulas’ holdings in Graco were worth $72,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of GGG. Gradient Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Graco during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Graco during the 1st quarter valued at about $38,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new stake in Graco in the first quarter valued at about $43,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Graco by 220.9% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 690 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tobam grew its stake in shares of Graco by 90.2% during the first quarter. Tobam now owns 601 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on GGG shares. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Graco from $87.00 to $86.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Graco from $99.00 to $96.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $79.00 price objective on shares of Graco in a report on Friday, September 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Graco currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $90.25.

Graco Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of GGG opened at $84.98 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $14.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.30, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.81. Graco Inc. has a 52 week low of $69.78 and a 52 week high of $94.77. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $82.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $83.31.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.01. Graco had a net margin of 23.16% and a return on equity of 22.40%. The business had revenue of $553.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $562.27 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.75 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 2.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st will be paid a $0.255 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.20%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.17%.

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.