MetLife Investment Management LLC Sells 1,748 Shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

MetLife Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 87,282 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,748 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Graco were worth $7,638,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Graco Stock Up 0.6 %

Graco stock opened at $91.08 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $86.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $82.95. Graco Inc. has a twelve month low of $77.49 and a twelve month high of $94.77. The company has a market capitalization of $15.38 billion, a PE ratio of 32.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.82.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.05). Graco had a net margin of 22.87% and a return on equity of 21.24%. The company had revenue of $519.21 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $538.19 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.76 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Graco news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,216 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.31, for a total value of $284,004.96. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 27,246 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,406,094.26. The trade was a 10.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $1,604,337.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 14,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,288,440.16. This trade represents a 55.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 22,818 shares of company stock valued at $2,026,230 over the last three months. 2.63% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Graco from $96.00 to $93.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $79.00 price target on shares of Graco in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $89.25.

Graco Company 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.