Larson Financial Group LLC Cuts Stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Larson Financial Group LLC lessened its holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 76.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 360 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,155 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Graco were worth $32,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Graco by 93.5% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 13,380 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,171,000 after buying an additional 6,464 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. lifted its stake in Graco by 59.0% in the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 9,225 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $807,000 after acquiring an additional 3,422 shares during the last quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC acquired a new position in Graco during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,139,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Graco by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 55,004 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,813,000 after purchasing an additional 2,939 shares during the last quarter. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in shares of Graco in the 3rd quarter valued at $686,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Graco Stock Performance

Shares of GGG stock opened at $91.08 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $86.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.00. The stock has a market cap 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 Inc. has a 1 year low of $77.49 and a 1 year high of $94.77.

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

Graco Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Graco

In other news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,216 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 27,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,406,094.26. The trade was a 10.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Kathryn L. Schoenrock sold 1,527 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.30, for a total value of $137,888.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,374 shares in the company, valued at $575,572.20. This trade represents a 19.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 22,818 shares of company stock worth $2,026,230. 2.63% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Graco 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.