JLB & Associates Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

JLB & Associates Inc. reduced its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 0.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 222,924 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,377 shares during the quarter. Graco makes up about 2.5% of JLB & Associates Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest position. JLB & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Graco were worth $19,508,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Graco by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 5,018 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $435,000 after acquiring an additional 470 shares during the last quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Graco by 22,385.7% during the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,574 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $137,000 after purchasing an additional 1,567 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its stake in shares of Graco by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 7,897 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $685,000 after purchasing an additional 3,948 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its position in shares of Graco by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 15,056 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,306,000 after purchasing an additional 798 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in shares of Graco by 334.4% during 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 buying an additional 23,494 shares in the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Graco Price Performance

Shares of GGG opened at $86.73 on Thursday. Graco Inc. has a 1-year low of $69.78 and a 1-year high of $94.77. The company has a market capitalization of $14.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.81. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $82.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $83.55.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.01. Graco had a net margin of 23.16% and a return on equity of 22.40%. The firm had revenue of $553.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $562.27 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.75 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 2.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.255 per share. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GGG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $79.00 price objective on shares of Graco in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Graco from $99.00 to $96.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Graco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Graco from $87.00 to $86.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a 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 MarketBeat.com, Graco has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.