Ballentine Partners LLC Acquires 180 Shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Ballentine Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 4.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,094 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in Graco were worth $325,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Graco Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE GGG opened at $82.12 on Thursday. Graco Inc. has a 12-month low of $69.78 and a 12-month high of $94.77. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $81.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $84.27. The stock has a market cap of $13.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.81.

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

Graco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Investors of record on Monday, July 22nd were given a $0.255 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 22nd. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.24%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on GGG shares. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Graco from $87.00 to $86.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Graco from $99.00 to $96.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 26th. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on Graco from $82.00 to $79.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Graco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.80.

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.