JNBA Financial Advisors Cuts Stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

JNBA Financial Advisors lessened its holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 1.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 54,441 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 600 shares during the quarter. JNBA Financial Advisors’ holdings in Graco were worth $4,764,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of GGG. Gradient Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Graco during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new position in shares of Graco in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $43,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of Graco by 187.8% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 495 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Graco by 220.9% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank purchased a new position in Graco during the 3rd quarter valued at about $59,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Graco Stock Up 4.2 %

GGG stock traded up $3.58 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $88.18. The company had a trading volume of 168,494 shares, compared to its average volume of 728,354. Graco Inc. has a 12-month low of $76.28 and a 12-month high of $94.77. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $84.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $82.25. The company has a market capitalization of $14.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.82.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last posted its earnings results 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 business 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 21.24% and a net margin of 22.87%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.76 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 2.92 EPS for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.16%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Graco from $96.00 to $93.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $79.00 price target on shares of Graco in a report on Friday, September 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Graco currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $89.25.

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.