Whittier Trust Co. Reduces Stock Position in Graco Inc. $GGG

Whittier Trust Co. trimmed its holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 89.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,759 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 174,575 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in Graco were worth $1,755,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in GGG. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Graco by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,813,877 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $640,503,000 after buying an additional 242,817 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Graco by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,652,241 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $380,642,000 after acquiring an additional 261,126 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in Graco by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,057,036 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $332,556,000 after acquiring an additional 206,949 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its stake in Graco by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 2,076,887 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $176,016,000 after acquiring an additional 53,126 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Graco during the 4th quarter worth $161,949,000. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Andrea Helen Simon bought 1,240 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $80.53 per share, for a total transaction of $99,857.20. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 1,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $99,857.20. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GGG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Graco from $96.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 24th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Graco in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 price target on shares of Graco in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Graco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $94.25.

Graco Price Performance

Graco stock opened at $75.19 on Wednesday. Graco Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.15 and a 12 month high of $95.69. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $76.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $83.42. The company has a market cap of $12.48 billion, a PE ratio of 24.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.93.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by ($0.09). Graco had a return on equity of 18.66% and a net margin of 22.96%.The business had revenue of $540.14 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $561.35 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.70 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 20th will be issued a $0.295 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 20th. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.44%.

Graco Company 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.