Graco Inc. $GGG Shares Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. reduced its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 98.5% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,737 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 310,450 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Graco were worth $364,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in GGG. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Graco during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Graco by 2,650.0% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 330 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. Essential Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Graco by 78.6% during the first quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 359 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Graco during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Elevation Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Graco by 2,540.0% during the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 528 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares during the period. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GGG. Robert W. Baird set a $80.00 target price on shares of Graco in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Graco in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Graco in a report on Monday, November 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $82.00 price objective (down from $95.00) on shares of Graco in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lowered their target price on shares of Graco from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Graco has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $87.40.

Graco Price Performance

NYSE:GGG opened at $67.82 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 2.12. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $75.73 and a 200 day moving average of $80.62. Graco Inc. has a 52-week low of $65.96 and a 52-week high of $95.69.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The industrial products company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.83 by ($0.02). Graco had a net margin of 22.40% and a return on equity of 20.13%. The business had revenue of $586.39 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $590.17 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.73 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.20 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 4th. Investors of record on Monday, October 19th were paid a $0.2950 dividend. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 19th. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.94%.

Graco Company Profile

Graco Inc designs, manufactures and markets equipment used to move, measure, control, dispense and spray fluid and coating materials. Its products include pumps, meters, fluid-handling systems and spray equipment used with paints, coatings, sealants, lubricants and other materials.

The company serves customers in industrial and process markets, as well as contractors working in areas such as painting, building maintenance and surface preparation. Graco sells its products worldwide through a network that includes distributors and direct sales.

Founded in Minneapolis in 1926 as the Gray Company, Graco began by making equipment for lubricating vehicles.