Graco Inc. $GGG Shares Sold by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 380,995 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 7,812 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.23% of Graco worth $32,754,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GGG. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Graco by 320.7% during the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 345 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the period. eCIO Inc. purchased a new stake in Graco in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Graco during the first quarter worth $41,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its stake in Graco by 41.5% during the second quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 481 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Graco by 982.6% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 498 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 452 shares during the period. 93.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GGG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Graco in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Weiss Ratings downgraded Graco from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $89.00 price target on shares of Graco in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.00.

Graco Price Performance

NYSE:GGG opened at $82.44 on Friday. Graco Inc. has a 12 month low of $72.06 and a 12 month high of $91.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.67 billion, a PE ratio of 28.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.08. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $82.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $84.34.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.75 by ($0.02). Graco had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 22.72%.The business had revenue of $543.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $563.07 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.71 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 5th. Investors of record on Monday, October 20th were issued a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 20th. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is 37.54%.

Graco 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.