Federated Hermes Inc. Sells 1,913 Shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Federated Hermes Inc. reduced its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 8.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,138 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,913 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Graco were worth $1,747,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tobam lifted its stake in Graco by 2,330.8% in the 4th quarter. Tobam now owns 316 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Graco in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Graco during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in Graco by 3,063.2% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 601 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 582 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Graco by 370.7% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 626 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 493 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Graco Stock Performance

GGG stock opened at $81.97 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $13.86 billion, a PE ratio of 28.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.81. Graco Inc. has a one year low of $69.78 and a one year high of $94.77. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $90.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $85.07.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The industrial products company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $492.19 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $536.19 million. Graco had a net margin of 23.15% and a return on equity of 23.01%. Graco’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.74 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.14 EPS for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a $0.255 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.17%.

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.