Marks Group Wealth Management Inc Sells 1,706 Shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Marks Group Wealth Management Inc lessened its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 87,798 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,706 shares during the quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc’s holdings in Graco were worth $7,617,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of GGG. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Graco by 4.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,085,518 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,245,193,000 after buying an additional 726,245 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Graco by 4.6% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,575,804 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $114,845,000 after acquiring an additional 69,151 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Graco by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 994,086 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $72,449,000 after acquiring an additional 79,954 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Graco by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 988,631 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $72,051,000 after acquiring an additional 13,980 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Graco by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 908,793 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $66,233,000 after purchasing an additional 80,631 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com raised Graco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Graco from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Graco from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.80.

Insider Activity at Graco

In other Graco news, VP Angela F. Wordell sold 3,588 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.60, for a total transaction of $335,836.80. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 12,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,191,060. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Graco news, VP Angela F. Wordell sold 3,588 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 12,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,191,060. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Timothy R. White sold 2,895 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.49, for a total value of $253,283.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 50,782 shares in the company, valued at $4,442,917.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 48,378 shares of company stock valued at $4,376,528 over the last ninety days. 2.63% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Graco Stock Performance

Graco stock traded down $0.19 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $88.20. 786,731 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 651,768. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.81. The business’s 50-day moving average is $91.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.71. Graco Inc. has a 12 month low of $68.78 and a 12 month high of $94.77.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.01. Graco had a return on equity of 24.61% and a net margin of 23.07%. The business had revenue of $566.64 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $565.86 million. On average, equities analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a $0.255 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.16%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.69%.

Graco Company Profile

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.