Graco Inc. $GGG Shares Sold by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered its stake in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 8.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 661,987 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 62,747 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 0.40% of Graco worth $56,242,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GGG. Taylor Hoffman Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Graco by 2.8% during the third quarter. Taylor Hoffman Capital Management LLC now owns 47,257 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,015,000 after acquiring an additional 1,305 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc increased its position in Graco by 31.0% during the 3rd quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 11,046 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $933,000 after purchasing an additional 2,613 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co raised its stake in shares of Graco by 40.3% during the 3rd quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 735 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in shares of Graco by 42.6% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 465 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board acquired a new stake in shares of Graco in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $3,927,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on GGG shares. Weiss Ratings raised Graco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Graco in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Robert W. Baird set a $96.00 price objective on shares of Graco in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Graco from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Graco in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $96.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Kathryn L. Schoenrock sold 2,223 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.06, for a total transaction of $195,757.38. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 7,846 shares in the company, valued at approximately $690,918.76. This represents a 22.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director J Kevin Gilligan sold 12,870 shares of Graco stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.07, for a total value of $1,146,330.90. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 19,394 shares of company stock worth $1,739,326. 2.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Graco Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:GGG opened at $92.33 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $15.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.08. Graco Inc. has a 52-week low of $72.06 and a 52-week high of $95.69. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $87.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $84.95.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The industrial products company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $591.99 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.64 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 13th will be issued a $0.295 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 13th. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Graco’s payout ratio is 38.19%.

Graco declared that its board has authorized a share buyback 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 buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.