Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Shares Sold by Centric Wealth Management

Centric Wealth Management lessened its holdings in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 6.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,800 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Centric Wealth Management’s holdings in Graco were worth $241,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Graco by 19.4% during the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 68,477 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,991,000 after buying an additional 11,139 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Graco by 0.7% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 30,968 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,257,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in Graco by 3.2% in the third quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 208,284 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $15,180,000 after acquiring an additional 6,525 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in shares of Graco by 119.3% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 138,982 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,129,000 after purchasing an additional 75,594 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio increased its position in shares of Graco by 13.2% during the third quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 23,292 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,697,000 after purchasing an additional 2,723 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Graco Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of Graco stock traded up $0.66 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $83.51. 1,157,407 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 688,463. Graco Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $69.78 and a fifty-two week high of $94.77. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $90.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $85.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.84.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The industrial products company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $492.19 million during 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%. The firm’s revenue was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.74 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th were issued a dividend of $0.255 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 12th. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.22%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.17%.

Insider Activity

In other Graco news, VP Angela F. Wordell sold 3,588 shares of Graco stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 12,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,191,060. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Christian E. Rothe sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.04, for a total value of $1,350,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 25,583 shares in the company, valued at $2,303,493.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Angela F. Wordell sold 3,588 shares of the 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 12,725 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,191,060. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 48,378 shares of company stock valued at $4,376,528 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

About Graco

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.