Amalgamated Bank Lowers Stock Holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Amalgamated Bank lessened its stake in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 112,692 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,589 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank owned approximately 0.07% of Graco worth $9,777,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GGG. Tobam boosted its stake in Graco by 2,330.8% in the 4th quarter. Tobam now owns 316 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Graco in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in Graco in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Graco by 3,063.2% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 601 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 582 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Graco by 370.7% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 626 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 493 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on GGG shares. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Graco from $90.00 to $87.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 26th. William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Graco in a report on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Graco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Graco from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Graco from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Graco currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $88.25.

Graco Stock Up 1.5 %

NYSE:GGG traded up $1.21 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $82.12. 753,550 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 739,491. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $90.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $85.11. Graco Inc. has a one year low of $69.78 and a one year high of $94.77. The firm has a market cap of $13.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.84.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The industrial products company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $492.19 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $536.19 million. Graco had a net margin of 23.15% and a return on equity of 23.01%. Graco’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.74 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th were issued a $0.255 dividend. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 12th. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Angela F. Wordell sold 3,588 shares of Graco stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.60, for a total transaction of $335,836.80. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 12,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,191,060. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Graco news, VP Angela F. Wordell sold 3,588 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.60, for a total value of $335,836.80. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 12,725 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,191,060. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jody H. Feragen sold 5,036 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.29, for a total value of $464,772.44. Following the transaction, the director now owns 44,903 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,144,097.87. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 48,378 shares of company stock worth $4,376,528. Corporate insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

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.