Claro Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Claro Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 16.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 7,563 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,508 shares during the period. Claro Advisors LLC’s holdings in Graco were worth $637,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Graco by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 15,245 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,290,000 after acquiring an additional 414 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Graco in the fourth quarter worth approximately $303,000. Modus Advisors LLC grew its position in Graco by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Modus Advisors LLC now owns 3,475 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $293,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Graco by 46.4% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,189 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $353,000 after acquiring an additional 1,328 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Graco by 244.4% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,990,742 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $174,210,000 after acquiring an additional 1,412,704 shares during the period. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Graco Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE GGG opened at $81.87 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $13.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.93, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.84. Graco Inc. has a 12-month low of $77.49 and a 12-month high of $94.77. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $87.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $84.20.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last announced 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). The company had revenue of $519.21 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $538.19 million. Graco had a net margin of 22.87% and a return on equity of 21.24%. The firm’s revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.76 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Investors of record on Monday, January 20th will be issued a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. This is a positive change from Graco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is 38.87%.

Insider Activity at Graco

In related news, insider Caroline M. Chambers sold 8,280 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.57, for a total value of $749,919.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 57,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,217,918.84. This represents a 12.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,216 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.31, for a total value of $284,004.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 27,246 shares in the company, valued at $2,406,094.26. This trade represents a 10.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 31,098 shares of company stock valued at $2,776,150 over the last quarter. 2.63% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Graco from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $79.00 price target on shares of Graco in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded Graco from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Graco has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $91.50.

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.