Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Holdings Trimmed by Sanctuary Advisors LLC

Sanctuary Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,668 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 126 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC’s holdings in Graco were worth $1,063,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GGG. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in Graco by 48.5% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,106 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Graco by 45,002.6% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 17,590 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $15,390,000 after purchasing an additional 17,551 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its position in Graco by 40.6% during the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 199,393 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $17,297,000 after purchasing an additional 57,580 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its position in Graco by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 28,922 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,530,000 after purchasing an additional 1,330 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inscription Capital LLC purchased a new position in Graco during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $208,000. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Graco Price Performance

GGG opened at $85.79 on Thursday. Graco Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $77.49 and a fifty-two week high of $94.77. The business has a 50-day moving average of $84.65 and a 200-day moving average of $85.13. The company has a market capitalization of $14.54 billion, a PE ratio of 30.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.84.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The industrial products company reported $0.64 earnings per share 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, equities research analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Graco

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.