Gabelli Funds LLC Has $51.45 Million Position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Gabelli Funds LLC lessened its holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 0.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 648,900 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 4,200 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC owned 0.38% of Graco worth $51,445,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in GGG. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its position in Graco by 5.5% during the second quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 2,309 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $183,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Graco by 7.1% during the 2nd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 2,031 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $161,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Graco by 8.8% during the 2nd quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,687 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $134,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Graco by 1.9% in the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 7,490 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $700,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Graco by 6.3% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,397 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $190,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Graco Price Performance

GGG opened at $84.59 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $82.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $83.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.17, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.81. Graco Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $69.78 and a fifty-two week high of $94.77.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $553.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $562.27 million. Graco had a return on equity of 22.40% and a net margin of 23.16%. Graco’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.75 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 2.98 EPS for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Graco 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.