Tran Capital Management L.P. Sells 10,258 Shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Tran Capital Management L.P. reduced its position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 23.7% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 33,004 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 10,258 shares during the period. Graco accounts for about 0.3% of Tran Capital Management L.P.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Tran Capital Management L.P.’s holdings in Graco were worth $3,085,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Focus Financial Network Inc. ADV bought a new position in Graco during the 4th quarter valued at about $6,412,000. Secured Retirement Advisors LLC bought a new position in Graco during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,606,000. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI lifted its holdings in Graco by 179.4% during the 4th quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI now owns 77,867 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,756,000 after purchasing an additional 50,000 shares during the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Graco in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,026,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in Graco by 334.4% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 30,520 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,648,000 after acquiring an additional 23,494 shares in the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Graco Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:GGG traded up $0.50 during trading on Thursday, hitting $79.09. 420,995 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 875,180. The firm has a market cap of $13.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.27, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.82. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $80.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $85.89. Graco Inc. has a 1-year low of $69.78 and a 1-year high of $94.77.

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

Graco Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 22nd will be paid a $0.255 dividend. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 22nd. Graco’s payout ratio is currently 35.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.