Tran Capital Management L.P. Has $3.09 Million Position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Tran Capital Management L.P. cut its holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 23.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 33,004 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 10,258 shares during the period. Graco accounts for approximately 0.3% of Tran Capital Management L.P.’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Tran Capital Management L.P.’s holdings in Graco were worth $3,085,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its position in Graco by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 7,490 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $700,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its position in Graco by 24.3% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 931 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the period. D.B. Root & Company LLC increased its position in Graco by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC now owns 12,421 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,078,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its position in Graco by 15.8% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,611 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $151,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the period. Finally, Claro Advisors LLC increased its position in Graco by 2.5% during the first quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 9,021 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $843,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Graco Trading Up 0.6 %

Graco stock traded up $0.50 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $79.09. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 420,995 shares, compared to its average volume of 875,180. Graco Inc. has a 52 week low of $69.78 and a 52 week high of $94.77. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $80.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $85.89. The stock has a market cap of $13.38 billion, a PE ratio of 27.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.82.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last announced 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $536.19 million. Graco had a net margin of 23.15% and a return on equity of 23.01%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.74 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

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

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.