First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Sells 1,010 Shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. reduced its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 28.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,575 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,010 shares during the quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Graco were worth $223,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GGG. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Graco by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 30,968 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,257,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in shares of Graco by 119.3% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 138,982 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,129,000 after acquiring an additional 75,594 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio lifted its stake in shares of Graco by 13.2% during the 3rd quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 23,292 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,697,000 after purchasing an additional 2,723 shares during the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd grew its stake in Graco by 5.8% in the third quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 42,489 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,097,000 after purchasing an additional 2,323 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisor Partners II LLC raised its holdings in Graco by 3.8% in the third quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 11,675 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $851,000 after purchasing an additional 427 shares in the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Graco Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE GGG opened at $83.02 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $14.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.63, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.84. Graco Inc. has a 12 month low of $69.78 and a 12 month high of $94.77. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $89.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $85.44.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The industrial products company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.09). Graco had a net margin of 23.15% and a return on equity of 23.01%. The company had revenue of $492.19 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $536.19 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.74 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th were paid a $0.255 dividend. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 12th. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Graco news, VP Angela F. Wordell sold 3,588 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.60, for a total value of $335,836.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 12,725 shares in the company, valued at $1,191,060. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, VP Angela F. Wordell sold 3,588 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.60, for a total transaction of $335,836.80. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 12,725 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,191,060. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jody H. Feragen sold 5,036 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.29, for a total transaction of $464,772.44. Following the transaction, the director now owns 44,903 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,144,097.87. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 45,483 shares of company stock valued at $4,123,245. Corporate insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GGG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Graco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Graco from $90.00 to $87.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Graco from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Graco from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Graco in a research note 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $88.25.

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.