Graco Inc. $GGG Shares Sold by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. decreased its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,041,645 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 52,007 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.65% of Graco worth $80,040,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its position in Graco by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 9,655 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $742,000 after purchasing an additional 984 shares during the period. Machina Capital S.A.S. purchased a new stake in shares of Graco in the 3rd quarter worth about $693,000. Lido Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Graco in the 3rd quarter worth about $344,000. Narwhal Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of Graco by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Narwhal Capital Management now owns 92,857 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,135,000 after purchasing an additional 2,298 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry Hill Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Graco during the 3rd quarter valued at about $528,000. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Graco Stock Performance

NYSE GGG traded up $0.00 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $72.44. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,684,383 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,114,021. Graco Inc. has a 12 month low of $65.96 and a 12 month high of $95.69. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $75.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $80.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 2.12 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The company has a market cap of $11.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.89.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The industrial products company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.83 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $586.39 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $590.17 million. Graco had a net margin of 22.40% and a return on equity of 20.13%. Graco’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.73 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.20 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 19th were issued a dividend of $0.2950 per share. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 19th. Graco’s payout ratio is presently 37.94%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on GGG shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Graco in a research note on Monday, November 2nd. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price objective on Graco from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $82.00 target price (down from $95.00) on shares of Graco in a report on Friday, October 23rd. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Graco in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $80.00 price target on shares of Graco in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Graco currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $87.40.

Graco Profile

Graco Inc. designs, manufactures and markets equipment used to move, measure, control, dispense and spray fluid and coating materials. Its products include pumps, meters, fluid-handling systems and spray equipment used with paints, coatings, sealants, lubricants and other materials. The company serves customers in industrial and process markets, as well as contractors working in areas such as painting, building maintenance and surface preparation. Graco sells its products worldwide through a network that includes distributors and direct sales.