Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co Decreases Stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co reduced its stake in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 6.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,412 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,010 shares during the period. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Graco were worth $1,143,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in GGG. Gradient Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Graco during the 2nd 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. acquired a new position in shares of Graco during the 1st quarter worth $43,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Graco by 220.9% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 690 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tobam raised its stake in shares of Graco by 90.2% during the 1st quarter. Tobam now owns 601 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Graco Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of GGG stock opened at $84.52 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $81.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $84.04. Graco Inc. has a twelve month low of $69.78 and a twelve month high of $94.77. The company has a market capitalization of $14.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.14, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.81.

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

Graco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.255 per share. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 21st. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.