Graco Inc. $GGG Shares Sold by WealthPlan Investment Management LLC

WealthPlan Investment Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 121,859 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 7,330 shares during the period. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC owned 0.07% of Graco worth $10,353,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Graco by 116.9% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 514 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Graco by 432.6% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 85,654 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,263,000 after acquiring an additional 69,573 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Graco by 0.4% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 340,249 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,908,000 after acquiring an additional 1,208 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Graco during the third quarter worth approximately $66,000. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI acquired a new position in Graco in the 3rd quarter valued at $572,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Graco Trading Up 0.5%

Graco stock opened at $86.04 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $82.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.99. Graco Inc. has a 12-month low of $72.06 and a 12-month high of $89.67. The stock has a market cap of $14.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.36, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.09.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.75 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $543.36 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $563.07 million. Graco had a net margin of 22.72% and a return on equity of 18.89%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.71 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current year.

Graco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.295 per share. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. This is a positive change from Graco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 16th. Graco’s payout ratio is 40.27%.

Graco announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Friday, December 5th that allows the company to buyback 15,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GGG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Graco from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 25th. Robert W. Baird set a $89.00 price target on shares of Graco in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Graco in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Graco has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $87.00.

Graco Profile

Graco Inc is a leading manufacturer of fluid handling systems and components, headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded in 1926, the company has built a reputation for innovation in spray finishing, lubrication, and fluid management technologies. Graco’s solutions are designed to address the needs of paint and coatings applicators, general industry, and process fluids in a variety of end markets.

The company’s product portfolio includes airless and air-assisted spray equipment, pumps for oil and gas applications, industrial lubrication systems, and automated dispensing equipment.