Graco Inc. $GGG Shares Sold by GRIMES & Co WEALTH MANAGEMENT LLC

GRIMES & Co WEALTH MANAGEMENT LLC trimmed its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 22.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,608 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 10,885 shares during the quarter. GRIMES & Co WEALTH MANAGEMENT LLC’s holdings in Graco were worth $3,110,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its holdings in shares of Graco by 154.2% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 64,341 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,466,000 after purchasing an additional 39,031 shares during the last quarter. Addenda Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Graco in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,837,000. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new position in Graco during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $3,806,000. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Graco by 10.6% during the 2nd quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 129,189 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $11,106,000 after buying an additional 12,352 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Graco by 18.3% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 81,202 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,899,000 after buying an additional 12,575 shares during the period. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on GGG. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Graco in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird set a $89.00 price objective on shares of Graco in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Graco from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Graco presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $87.00.

Graco Trading Up 0.5%

Graco stock opened at $86.04 on Wednesday. Graco Inc. has a 52 week low of $72.06 and a 52 week high of $89.67. The stock has a market cap of $14.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.36, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.09. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $82.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $83.99.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $543.36 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $563.07 million. Graco had a return on equity of 18.89% and a net margin of 22.72%.The company’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.71 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Friday, December 5th that permits the company to buyback 15,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Graco Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.295 per share. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 16th. This is an increase from Graco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is 40.27%.

About Graco

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.