Baillie Gifford & Co. Sells 6,855 Shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Baillie Gifford & Co. trimmed its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 4.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 135,794 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 6,855 shares during the quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. owned about 0.08% of Graco worth $12,691,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GGG. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Graco by 61.2% in the third quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 8,225 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $599,000 after purchasing an additional 3,124 shares during the last quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Graco in the third quarter worth about $370,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Graco by 19.6% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 134,726 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,819,000 after acquiring an additional 22,053 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in Graco by 0.3% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 732,937 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $53,416,000 after acquiring an additional 2,194 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Seven Eight Capital LP grew its position in Graco by 48.4% in the third quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP now owns 15,168 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,105,000 after acquiring an additional 4,948 shares in the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Graco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GGG traded down $0.29 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $78.80. 598,565 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 795,587. Graco Inc. has a 1 year low of $69.78 and a 1 year high of $94.77. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $80.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $85.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $492.19 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $536.19 million. Graco had a net margin of 23.15% and a return on equity of 23.01%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.74 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on GGG shares. StockNews.com lowered Graco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $103.00 price target on shares of Graco in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Graco in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Graco from $90.00 to $87.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock 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.