Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Shares Sold by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund lowered its holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 362,645 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 13,911 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Graco were worth $31,463,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tobam increased its holdings in Graco by 2,330.8% in the fourth quarter. Tobam now owns 316 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Graco in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new position in Graco in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Graco by 3,063.2% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 601 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 582 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Graco by 370.7% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 626 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 493 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Graco Stock Down 7.0 %

GGG stock opened at $83.12 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.81. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $91.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $84.85. Graco Inc. has a 52 week low of $68.78 and a 52 week high of $94.77.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The industrial products company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $492.19 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $536.19 million. Graco had a return on equity of 23.43% and a net margin of 23.15%. The business’s revenue was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.74 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.255 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. Graco’s payout ratio is presently 35.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on GGG. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Graco from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. StockNews.com raised shares of Graco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Graco from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Graco has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Angela F. Wordell sold 3,588 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.60, for a total transaction of $335,836.80. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 12,725 shares in the company, valued at $1,191,060. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Graco news, insider Anthony J. Gargano sold 1,395 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.00, for a total value of $122,760.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $501,336. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Angela F. Wordell sold 3,588 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.60, for a total transaction of $335,836.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 12,725 shares in the company, valued at $1,191,060. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 48,378 shares of company stock worth $4,376,528. 2.63% of the stock is owned by 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.