PineStone Asset Management Inc. Sells 109,062 Shares of Graco Inc. $GGG

PineStone Asset Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,802,310 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 109,062 shares during the period. Graco comprises 2.0% of PineStone Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding. PineStone Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 2.29% of Graco worth $323,044,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Graco by 320.7% in the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 345 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the last quarter. eCIO Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Graco during the first quarter valued at about $32,000. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Graco during the 1st quarter worth approximately $41,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its position in shares of Graco by 41.5% in the second quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 481 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Graco by 982.6% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 498 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 452 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Graco Price Performance

GGG stock opened at $83.46 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $82.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $84.08. The company has a market cap of $13.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.09. Graco Inc. has a 1 year low of $72.06 and a 1 year high of $89.67.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.75 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $543.36 million for 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%. Graco’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.71 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.295 per share. This is a boost from Graco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 16th. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.54%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Graco from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Saturday, October 25th. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Graco in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $89.00 target price on shares of Graco in a report on Friday, October 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Graco presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $90.33.

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.