Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Shares Sold by New York State Teachers Retirement System

New York State Teachers Retirement System decreased its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 191,094 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,860 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Graco were worth $16,723,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gradient Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Graco during the second quarter worth about $27,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new stake in Graco in the 1st quarter worth approximately $43,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Graco by 187.8% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 495 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Tobam lifted its stake in shares of Graco by 90.2% during the 1st quarter. Tobam now owns 601 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the period. Finally, Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Graco during the third quarter worth $59,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Graco Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of Graco stock opened at $82.54 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $83.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $82.40. Graco Inc. has a twelve month low of $74.79 and a twelve month high of $94.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.17, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.81.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $519.21 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $538.19 million. Graco had a net margin of 22.87% and a return on equity of 21.24%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.76 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 2.92 EPS for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.255 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Graco from $96.00 to $93.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $79.00 price objective on shares of Graco in a report on Friday, September 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Graco presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $89.25.

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.