ProShare Advisors LLC Sells 6,293 Shares of Graco Inc. $GGG

ProShare Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 1.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 415,210 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 6,293 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.25% of Graco worth $35,276,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Graco by 3.2% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,458,857 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $208,908,000 after buying an additional 75,285 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of Graco by 12.6% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 2,023,761 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $179,083,000 after acquiring an additional 226,284 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Graco during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $170,661,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in Graco by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,443,723 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $124,117,000 after purchasing an additional 11,924 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in Graco by 9.0% in the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,139,748 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $98,010,000 after purchasing an additional 94,262 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Graco news, EVP Kathryn L. Schoenrock sold 2,223 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.06, for a total value of $195,757.38. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 7,846 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $690,918.76. This represents a 22.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Timothy R. White sold 1,469 shares of Graco stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.70, for a total transaction of $133,238.30. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 51,430 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,664,701. This represents a 2.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 19,394 shares of company stock worth $1,739,326 over the last quarter. 2.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Graco Stock Performance

Shares of Graco stock opened at $92.72 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $85.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $84.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.01, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.08. Graco Inc. has a 52 week low of $72.06 and a 52 week high of $93.77.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The industrial products company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.77. The business had revenue of $593.16 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $591.99 million. Graco had a return on equity of 19.49% and a net margin of 23.33%.The firm’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.64 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graco announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Friday, December 5th that authorizes the company to buyback 15,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Graco Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 4th. Investors of record on Monday, January 19th were given a $0.295 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 16th. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. This is a positive change from Graco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is 38.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on GGG. Robert W. Baird set a $96.00 target price on Graco in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Graco in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Graco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Graco in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Graco from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $96.50.

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.