Diversified Trust Co Trims Stock Position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Diversified Trust Co cut its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,399 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 849 shares during the quarter. Diversified Trust Co’s holdings in Graco were worth $1,635,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Graco by 1.3% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 139,310 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $11,044,000 after purchasing an additional 1,851 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its stake in Graco by 27.7% in the 2nd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 22,664 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,797,000 after buying an additional 4,912 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Graco by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 4,094 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $325,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Prudential PLC increased its holdings in shares of Graco by 18.6% in the 2nd quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 54,378 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,311,000 after buying an additional 8,543 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Choreo LLC raised its position in shares of Graco by 19.0% during the 2nd quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 8,464 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $659,000 after buying an additional 1,353 shares in the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Graco Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE GGG opened at $82.26 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $87.15 and a 200-day moving average of $84.12. Graco Inc. has a 1-year low of $77.49 and a 1-year high of $94.77. The firm has a market cap of $13.89 billion, a PE ratio of 29.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.84.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $538.19 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.76 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 20th will be issued a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis 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 (DPR) is 38.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on GGG shares. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $79.00 target price on shares of Graco in a research note on Friday, September 27th. BNP Paribas raised Graco from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Graco from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Graco currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $93.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Graco

In related news, insider Peter J. O’shea sold 18,075 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $1,604,337.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 14,516 shares in the company, valued at $1,288,440.16. This represents a 55.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathryn L. Schoenrock sold 1,527 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.30, for a total transaction of $137,888.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,374 shares of the company’s stock, 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 quarter, insiders have sold 31,098 shares of company stock worth $2,776,150. 2.63% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.