Amalgamated Bank Trims Holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Amalgamated Bank lessened its stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 5.8% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 80,434 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 4,956 shares during the quarter. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Graco were worth $7,039,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gradient Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Graco in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. bought a new stake in Graco in the first quarter valued at about $43,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in Graco by 187.8% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 495 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in Graco during the third quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Graco by 220.9% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 690 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Graco Price Performance

Shares of GGG opened at $88.75 on Thursday. Graco Inc. has a 12 month low of $76.28 and a 12 month high of $94.77. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $84.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $82.25. The company has a market cap of $14.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.36, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.82.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $519.21 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $538.19 million. Graco had a return on equity of 21.24% and a net margin of 22.87%. The firm’s revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.76 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 2.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st were given a $0.255 dividend. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 21st. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GGG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Graco from $96.00 to $93.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $79.00 target price on shares of Graco in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.