DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Lowers Position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale trimmed its stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 29,977 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,092 shares during the quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale’s holdings in Graco were worth $2,577,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Graco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in Graco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Money Concepts Capital Corp lifted its position in shares of Graco by 569.7% during the fourth quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 509 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 433 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Graco during the second quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Graco by 141.8% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 607 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 356 shares in the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on GGG. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Graco from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of Graco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Graco from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.80.

Graco Price Performance

GGG opened at $89.47 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.08 billion, a PE ratio of 30.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.81. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $91.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $83.98. Graco Inc. has a 12-month low of $68.78 and a 12-month high of $94.77.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $566.64 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $565.86 million. Graco had a net margin of 23.07% and a return on equity of 24.61%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 3.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.255 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.14%. Graco’s payout ratio is 34.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Graco

In other Graco news, VP Angela F. Wordell sold 3,588 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.60, for a total transaction of $335,836.80. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 12,725 shares in the company, valued at $1,191,060. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Graco news, VP Angela F. Wordell sold 3,588 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.60, for a total transaction of $335,836.80. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 12,725 shares in the company, valued at $1,191,060. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jody H. Feragen sold 5,036 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.29, for a total transaction of $464,772.44. Following the sale, the director now owns 44,903 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,144,097.87. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 48,378 shares of company stock worth $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.