Federated Hermes Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Federated Hermes Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 10.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,307 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,489 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Graco were worth $1,768,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Graco by 14.4% in the second quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,543 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $202,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Graco by 204.4% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 51,444 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,078,000 after acquiring an additional 34,545 shares in the last quarter. Nuance Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Graco by 80.1% in the 2nd quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 459,873 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,459,000 after purchasing an additional 204,514 shares during the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Graco by 57.7% in the 2nd quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 13,917 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,103,000 after purchasing an additional 5,093 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Achmea Investment Management B.V. lifted its position in shares of Graco by 95.1% during the second quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 17,226 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,365,000 after purchasing an additional 8,396 shares during the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Graco Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of Graco stock opened at $84.52 on Friday. Graco Inc. has a twelve month low of $69.78 and a twelve month high of $94.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.14, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.81. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $81.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $84.04.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.01. Graco had a return on equity of 22.40% and a net margin of 23.16%. The firm had revenue of $553.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $562.27 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.75 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 2.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st will be given a $0.255 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on GGG. StockNews.com lowered Graco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Graco from $99.00 to $96.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Graco from $87.00 to $86.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of Graco from $82.00 to $79.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Graco currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.80.

Graco Company Profile

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.