Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers Inc. ID Reduces Stock Position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers Inc. ID trimmed its stake in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 0.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 563,249 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,122 shares during the period. Graco makes up 3.0% of Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers Inc. ID’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers Inc. ID owned 0.33% of Graco worth $48,867,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Tobam raised its stake in Graco by 2,330.8% during the 4th quarter. Tobam now owns 316 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in Graco during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in Graco in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in Graco by 3,063.2% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 601 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 582 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Graco by 370.7% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 626 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 493 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jody H. Feragen sold 5,036 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.29, for a total transaction of $464,772.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 44,903 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,144,097.87. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Jody H. Feragen sold 5,036 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.29, for a total value of $464,772.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 44,903 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,144,097.87. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christian E. Rothe sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.04, for a total value of $1,350,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 25,583 shares in the company, valued at $2,303,493.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 48,378 shares of company stock worth $4,376,528 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Graco Stock Performance

Shares of Graco stock opened at $82.56 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $91.14 and a 200 day moving average of $84.84. The company has a market capitalization of $13.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.81. Graco Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $69.78 and a fifty-two week high of $94.77.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The industrial products company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.09). Graco had a return on equity of 23.43% and a net margin of 23.15%. The business had revenue of $492.19 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $536.19 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.74 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 3.14 EPS for the current year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a $0.255 dividend. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. Graco’s payout ratio is currently 35.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on GGG shares. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Graco from $90.00 to $87.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com lowered Graco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Graco from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Graco from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Graco in a research report on Friday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $85.60.

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.