Canoe Financial LP Decreases Holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Canoe Financial LP reduced its stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 78.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 139,471 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 502,681 shares during the quarter. Canoe Financial LP’s holdings in Graco were worth $12,223,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gradient Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Graco during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new stake in Graco in the first quarter worth $43,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in Graco by 187.8% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 495 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Graco by 220.9% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 690 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 475 shares during the period. Finally, Tobam lifted its position in shares of Graco by 90.2% during the 1st quarter. Tobam now owns 601 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Graco Trading Down 0.2 %

Graco stock opened at $82.14 on Monday. Graco Inc. has a 1-year low of $70.80 and a 1-year high of $94.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.89 billion, a PE ratio of 28.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.81. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $83.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $82.58.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $519.21 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $538.19 million. Graco had a return on equity of 22.40% and a net margin of 23.16%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.76 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 2.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be given a dividend of $0.255 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 21st. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.24%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. DA Davidson restated 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 cut their price objective on shares of Graco from $96.00 to $93.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Graco presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $89.25.

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.