Private Advisor Group LLC Cuts Position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Private Advisor Group LLC reduced its stake in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 13.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,725 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,197 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Graco were worth $1,241,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Graco by 6.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,458,988 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $652,736,000 after buying an additional 443,141 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Graco by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,152,292 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $362,808,000 after acquiring an additional 188,579 shares during the period. PineStone Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Graco by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,904,681 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $244,836,000 after purchasing an additional 76,184 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Graco by 17.0% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,328,179 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $196,242,000 after purchasing an additional 337,437 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Graco by 4.1% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,111,152 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $97,237,000 after purchasing an additional 43,923 shares in the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Caroline M. Chambers sold 8,280 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.57, for a total transaction of $749,919.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 57,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,217,918.84. This represents a 12.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.63% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Graco Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:GGG opened at $86.07 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $84.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $85.13. Graco Inc. has a 12-month low of $77.49 and a 12-month high of $94.77. The firm has a market cap of $14.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.52, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.84.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The industrial products company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by ($0.13). Graco had a return on equity of 19.38% and a net margin of 23.00%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Monday, April 14th will be issued a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 14th. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Graco from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. DA Davidson set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Graco in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded Graco from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Graco presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $93.00.

Graco 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.