Graco Inc. $GGG Stock Sold by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund trimmed its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 19.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 34,255 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 8,230 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Graco were worth $2,632,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Lido Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Graco in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $344,000. Narwhal Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of Graco by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Narwhal Capital Management now owns 92,857 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,135,000 after purchasing an additional 2,298 shares in the last quarter. Quarry Hill Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Graco during the third quarter valued at approximately $528,000. New York Life Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Graco by 16.4% during the third quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 24,186 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,858,000 after purchasing an additional 3,413 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gen Wealth Partners Inc acquired a new stake in Graco during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Graco Trading Up 0.0%

GGG stock traded up $0.00 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $72.44. 1,684,383 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,114,021. Graco Inc. has a 52-week low of $65.96 and a 52-week high of $95.69. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $75.09 and its 200-day moving average is $80.23. The company has a market cap of $11.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

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

Graco Announces Dividend

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

Graco Company 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.