Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Stock Position Reduced by EP Wealth Advisors LLC

EP Wealth Advisors LLC trimmed its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 8.8% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 4,310 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 416 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Graco were worth $377,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in GGG. Gradient Investments LLC acquired a new position in Graco in the second quarter worth $27,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Graco in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of Graco by 187.8% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 495 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 323 shares during the period. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of Graco during the 3rd quarter valued at about $59,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Graco by 220.9% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 690 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares during the period. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Graco Trading Down 1.6 %

GGG opened at $88.67 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $87.17 and its 200-day moving average is $83.45. The stock has a market cap of $14.97 billion, a PE ratio of 31.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.83. Graco Inc. has a twelve month low of $77.49 and a twelve month 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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.05). Graco had a net margin of 22.87% and a return on equity of 21.24%. The business 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 firm earned $0.76 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current year.

Graco Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Investors of record on Monday, January 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. This is a boost from Graco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. Graco’s payout ratio is currently 38.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Kathryn L. Schoenrock sold 1,527 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.30, for a total transaction of $137,888.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $575,572.20. This represents a 19.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Peter J. O’shea sold 18,075 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $1,604,337.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 14,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,288,440.16. This trade represents a 55.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 31,098 shares of company stock valued at $2,776,150 over the last 90 days. 2.63% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on GGG. 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 research note on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Graco from $96.00 to $93.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $79.00 target price on shares of Graco in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Graco currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $89.25.

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.