Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Shares Sold by Narwhal Capital Management

Narwhal Capital Management lowered its stake in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 9.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 83,601 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 8,712 shares during the period. Narwhal Capital Management’s holdings in Graco were worth $7,047,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of GGG. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Graco by 6.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,458,988 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $652,736,000 after acquiring an additional 443,141 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Graco by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,152,292 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $362,808,000 after purchasing an additional 188,579 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Graco by 244.4% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,990,742 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $174,210,000 after purchasing an additional 1,412,704 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Graco by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,111,152 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $97,237,000 after purchasing an additional 43,923 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Port Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Graco by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Port Capital LLC now owns 783,483 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $68,563,000 after purchasing an additional 2,125 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Graco Stock Down 0.5 %

GGG opened at $85.62 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $86.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $84.61. Graco Inc. has a 52-week low of $77.49 and a 52-week high of $94.77. The company has a market cap of $14.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.25, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.84.

Graco Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Investors of record on Monday, January 20th will be paid a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. This is a positive change from Graco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.28%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on GGG. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Graco from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. BNP Paribas upgraded Graco from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $91.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Graco news, insider Peter J. O’shea sold 18,075 shares of Graco stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now owns 14,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,288,440.16. The trade was a 55.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,216 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.31, for a total transaction of $284,004.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 27,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,406,094.26. This trade represents a 10.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 31,098 shares of company stock worth $2,776,150. Insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

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.