Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Has $3.38 Million Stock Position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. reduced its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 38,911 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,880 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Graco were worth $3,376,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Tobam lifted its stake in Graco by 2,330.8% in the 4th quarter. Tobam now owns 316 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC bought a new position in Graco in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in Graco in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Graco by 3,063.2% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 601 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 582 shares during the period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Graco by 370.7% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 626 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 493 shares during the period. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on GGG. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Graco from $90.00 to $87.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 26th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Graco from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. StockNews.com cut shares of Graco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Graco from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Graco in a report on Friday, April 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $88.25.

Graco Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of GGG traded up $1.21 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $82.12. 753,550 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 739,491. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $90.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $85.11. The firm has a market cap of $13.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.84. Graco Inc. has a 52 week low of $69.78 and a 52 week high of $94.77.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The industrial products company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $492.19 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $536.19 million. Graco had a net margin of 23.15% and a return on equity of 23.01%. The business’s revenue was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.74 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th were paid a $0.255 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 12th. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.24%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.17%.

Insider Activity at Graco

In other Graco news, Director Jody H. Feragen sold 5,036 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.29, for a total value of $464,772.44. Following the sale, the director now owns 44,903 shares in the company, valued at $4,144,097.87. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Graco news, VP Angela F. Wordell sold 3,588 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.60, for a total value of $335,836.80. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 12,725 shares in the company, valued at $1,191,060. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Jody H. Feragen sold 5,036 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.29, for a total transaction of $464,772.44. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 44,903 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,144,097.87. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 48,378 shares of company stock valued at $4,376,528 over the last three months. 2.63% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.