Albert D Mason Inc. Has $631,000 Stake in Graco Inc. $GGG

Albert D Mason Inc. cut its position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 69.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,700 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 17,672 shares during the quarter. Albert D Mason Inc.’s holdings in Graco were worth $631,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Graco during the second quarter valued at $170,661,000. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec lifted its stake in shares of Graco by 236.4% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec now owns 1,279,553 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $108,711,000 after purchasing an additional 899,174 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Graco by 116.8% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 735,146 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $63,201,000 after purchasing an additional 396,125 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its stake in Graco by 877.5% during the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 334,947 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,300,000 after purchasing an additional 300,682 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Graco by 299.6% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 342,247 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,263,000 after purchasing an additional 256,593 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Graco Trading Down 1.7%

NYSE GGG opened at $84.62 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $89.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $85.34. Graco Inc. has a 12 month low of $72.06 and a 12 month high of $95.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.39, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.07.

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

Graco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 13th will be paid a $0.295 dividend. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 13th. Graco’s payout ratio is presently 38.19%.

Graco declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Friday, December 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase 15,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on GGG shares. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Graco in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Graco from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Graco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Graco from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $96.00 price target on shares of Graco in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $96.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Angela F. Wordell sold 2,832 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.22, for a total value of $263,999.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 13,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,245,419.20. This represents a 17.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathryn L. Schoenrock sold 2,223 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 7,846 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $690,918.76. This trade represents a 22.08% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 19,394 shares of company stock valued at $1,739,326. Insiders own 2.18% of the company’s stock.

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.