Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Shares Sold by Intech Investment Management LLC

Intech Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 14.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 45,916 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 7,763 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Graco were worth $4,018,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Graco by 28.5% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 8,159 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $763,000 after purchasing an additional 1,812 shares during the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Graco by 100.0% in the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 2,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $224,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares during the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Graco by 2,700.0% during the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 924 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $86,000 after buying an additional 891 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Graco by 71.7% during the first quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 4,501 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $421,000 after buying an additional 1,879 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BOKF NA increased its position in shares of Graco by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. BOKF NA now owns 13,690 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,263,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,216 shares of Graco stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.31, for a total value of $284,004.96. Following the sale, the insider now owns 27,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,406,094.26. This trade represents a 10.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Peter J. O’shea sold 18,075 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $1,604,337.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 14,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,288,440.16. The trade was a 55.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Graco Stock Up 1.7 %

Graco stock opened at $91.10 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $85.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $82.68. The firm has a market cap of $15.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.82. Graco Inc. has a 52 week low of $77.49 and a 52 week high of $94.77.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.71 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 firm had revenue of $519.21 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $538.19 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.76 EPS. Graco’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 2.91 EPS for the current year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 21st were paid a dividend of $0.255 per share. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.12%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 21st. Graco’s payout ratio is currently 36.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GGG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Graco from $96.00 to $93.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price 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 reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $79.00 price target on shares of Graco in a report 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Graco has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.25.

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.