Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Shares Sold by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB reduced its stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,690 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 900 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Graco were worth $3,936,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Graco during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Graco in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Graco in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $61,000. MilWealth Group LLC acquired a new position in Graco during the fourth quarter worth $63,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Graco by 93.1% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 956 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 461 shares during the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Graco news, insider Caroline M. Chambers sold 8,280 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.57, for a total transaction of $749,919.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 57,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,217,918.84. This represents a 12.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathryn L. Schoenrock sold 1,527 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $575,572.20. The trade was a 19.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Graco Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of Graco stock opened at $86.07 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $14.59 billion, a PE ratio of 30.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 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 has a fifty day simple moving average of $84.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $85.03.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The industrial products company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by ($0.13). Graco had a return on equity of 19.38% and a net margin of 23.00%. Analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be paid a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 14th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.28%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GGG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Graco from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. DA Davidson set a $85.00 price target on Graco in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded Graco from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $93.00.

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.