Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Shares Sold by WealthPLAN Partners LLC

WealthPLAN Partners LLC lowered its holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 13.0% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 58,691 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 8,744 shares during the quarter. WealthPLAN Partners LLC’s holdings in Graco were worth $5,136,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its stake in Graco by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 2,309 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $183,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Graco by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 4,222 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $369,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Graco by 7.1% during the second quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 2,031 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $161,000 after buying an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Graco by 8.8% during the second quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,687 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $134,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Graco by 6.3% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,397 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $190,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Graco Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of Graco stock opened at $89.04 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $84.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $82.27. The stock has a market cap of $15.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.46, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.82. Graco Inc. has a 12-month low of $77.03 and a 12-month high of $94.77.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $519.21 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $538.19 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.76 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 2.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st were paid a dividend of $0.255 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 21st. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.15%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,216 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.31, for a total transaction of $284,004.96. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 27,246 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,406,094.26. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 2.63% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on GGG. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Graco from $96.00 to $93.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $79.00 target price on shares of Graco in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target 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 given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Graco currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.