Franklin Resources Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Graco Inc. $GGG

Franklin Resources Inc. trimmed its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 59.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 60,771 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 89,314 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Graco were worth $5,224,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of GGG. PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Graco by 9.1% in the second quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,911,372 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $336,261,000 after buying an additional 326,877 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Graco by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,828,962 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $152,737,000 after acquiring an additional 28,795 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Graco by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 1,797,477 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $144,194,000 after purchasing an additional 120,875 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Graco by 12.3% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,337,457 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $111,691,000 after purchasing an additional 146,424 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Graco by 12.6% in the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,291,475 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $107,851,000 after purchasing an additional 144,134 shares during the period. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Graco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GGG opened at $82.23 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $82.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $84.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.63 billion, a PE ratio of 28.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.08. Graco Inc. has a 12 month low of $72.06 and a 12 month high of $91.45.

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

Graco Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on GGG shares. Robert W. Baird set a $89.00 target price on Graco in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Graco from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 25th. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Graco in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.00.

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.