Graco Inc. $GGG Shares Sold by Intech Investment Management LLC

Intech Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 37.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 39,767 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 24,208 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Graco were worth $3,321,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Graco during the first quarter worth $41,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Graco during the 4th quarter worth about $46,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Graco by 128.9% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 689 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service grew its position in shares of Graco by 74.8% during the first quarter. National Pension Service now owns 699 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group increased its stake in shares of Graco by 92.6% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 932 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $78,000 after buying an additional 448 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Graco Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of NYSE GGG opened at $84.46 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $85.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $84.14. Graco Inc. has a 52 week low of $72.06 and a 52 week high of $92.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.03.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $571.81 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $590.57 million. Graco had a net margin of 22.26% and a return on equity of 19.05%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.77 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on GGG shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Graco from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Graco in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.50.

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.