Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Position Reduced by Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. reduced its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 20.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,805 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,809 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Graco were worth $1,010,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in GGG. Tobam grew its stake in Graco by 2,330.8% during the 4th quarter. Tobam now owns 316 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Graco in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in Graco in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Graco in the 1st quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Northwest Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Graco during the 4th quarter valued at $50,000. 93.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Graco from $90.00 to $87.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 26th. William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Graco in a report on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com downgraded Graco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $103.00 target price on shares of Graco in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $90.75.

Graco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GGG opened at $77.85 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $81.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $85.99. Graco Inc. has a 52 week low of $69.78 and a 52 week high of $94.77. The firm has a market cap of $13.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.82.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The industrial products company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $492.19 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $536.19 million. Graco had a net margin of 23.15% and a return on equity of 23.01%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.74 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 3.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 22nd will be given a $0.255 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 22nd. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.31%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is 35.17%.

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.