Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC Sells 3,598 Shares of Graco Inc. $GGG

Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC trimmed its position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 0.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 436,039 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,598 shares during the quarter. Graco accounts for 2.7% of Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC owned approximately 0.26% of Graco worth $37,486,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. eCIO Inc. bought a new position in shares of Graco during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Graco during the first quarter worth $41,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 141 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Graco by 982.6% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 498 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 452 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Graco by 128.9% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 689 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Graco Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of GGG opened at $84.47 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $84.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $84.09. Graco Inc. has a 1-year low of $72.06 and a 1-year high of $92.86. The company has a market cap of $14.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.95, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.07.

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

Graco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 5th. Investors of record on Monday, October 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 20th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Graco’s payout ratio is presently 39.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GGG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Graco from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Graco in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus 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.