KBC Group NV Sells 1,348 Shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

KBC Group NV lessened its holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 3.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,332 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,348 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Graco were worth $2,951,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of GGG. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Graco by 118.0% in the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Graco in the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Graco by 128.9% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 689 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares during the period. Sit Investment Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Graco in the 4th quarter worth $80,000. Finally, USA Financial Formulas grew its stake in shares of Graco by 43.6% during the first quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 1,057 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Graco in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $93.00.

Graco Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE GGG opened at $88.44 on Thursday. Graco Inc. has a twelve month low of $72.06 and a twelve month high of $92.86. The stock has a market cap of $14.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.06. The company’s fifty day moving average is $84.44 and its 200-day moving average is $83.78.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.02. Graco had a return on equity of 19.42% and a net margin of 22.70%. The firm had revenue of $528.28 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $526.98 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.65 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.24%. Graco’s payout ratio is 38.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,588 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.23, for a total value of $309,393.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 27,520 shares in the company, valued at $2,373,049.60. This represents a 11.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.19% of the company’s stock.

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.