Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Holdings Decreased by Confluence Investment Management LLC

Confluence Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 719,415 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 8,041 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Graco were worth $62,956,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Graco by 1,010.8% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 55,886 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,223,000 after purchasing an additional 50,855 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC increased its stake in Graco by 567.4% in the 1st quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 42,899 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,009,000 after buying an additional 36,471 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its position in Graco by 14.5% in the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,440,378 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $134,618,000 after buying an additional 182,470 shares in the last quarter. M&G Plc boosted its stake in shares of Graco by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. M&G Plc now owns 483,535 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,199,000 after buying an additional 9,673 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Graco by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 884,912 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $82,683,000 after acquiring an additional 24,827 shares in the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Graco Stock Performance

GGG opened at $87.53 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $14.78 billion, a PE ratio of 30.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.82. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $84.29 and a 200-day moving average of $82.33. Graco Inc. has a 52-week low of $76.28 and a 52-week high of $94.77.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.05). Graco had a return on equity of 21.24% and a net margin of 22.87%. The company had revenue of $519.21 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $538.19 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.76 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 2.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st were issued a $0.255 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 21st. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.17%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,216 shares of Graco stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.31, for a total value of $284,004.96. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 27,246 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,406,094.26. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

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.