Walter Public Investments Inc. Sells 49,016 Shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Walter Public Investments Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGGFree Report) by 29.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 118,023 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 49,016 shares during the quarter. Graco accounts for approximately 1.8% of Walter Public Investments Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest position. Walter Public Investments Inc.’s holdings in Graco were worth $9,948,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Graco by 6.3% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Graco by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,152,292 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $362,808,000 after buying an additional 188,579 shares during the period. PineStone Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $244,836,000 after purchasing an additional 76,184 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Graco by 17.0% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Graco by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,664,427 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $140,295,000 after purchasing an additional 70,927 shares in the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. 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 note on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Graco from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, DA Davidson set a $85.00 price objective on Graco in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $93.00.

View Our Latest Stock Report on Graco

Graco Stock Performance

Shares of GGG stock opened at $85.79 on Thursday. Graco Inc. has a 52-week low of $77.49 and a 52-week high of $94.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.54 billion, a PE ratio of 30.42, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $84.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $85.13.

Graco (NYSE:GGGGet Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Caroline M. Chambers sold 8,280 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.57, for a total transaction of $749,919.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 57,612 shares in the company, valued at $5,217,918.84. This trade represents a 12.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 2.63% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Graco

(Free Report)

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.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Graco (NYSE:GGG)

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