Quantbot Technologies LP Cuts Stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Quantbot Technologies LP lessened its holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 53.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,759 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 22,570 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in Graco were worth $1,729,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of GGG. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its position in Graco by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 2,309 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $183,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Graco by 3.1% during the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 4,222 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $369,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Graco by 7.1% during the second quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 2,031 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $161,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Graco by 8.8% in the 2nd quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,687 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $134,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Graco by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,397 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $190,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Graco Stock Performance

NYSE:GGG opened at $91.08 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.18, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.82. Graco Inc. has a 1 year low of $77.49 and a 1 year high of $94.77. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $86.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $82.95.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $519.21 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $538.19 million. Graco had a net margin of 22.87% and a return on equity of 21.24%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.76 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st were issued a $0.255 dividend. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 21st. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Peter J. O’shea sold 18,075 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $1,604,337.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 14,516 shares in the company, valued at $1,288,440.16. This trade represents a 55.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,216 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.31, for a total transaction of $284,004.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 27,246 shares in the company, valued at $2,406,094.26. This represents a 10.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 22,818 shares of company stock worth $2,026,230 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $79.00 target price on shares of Graco in a report on Friday, September 27th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Graco from $96.00 to $93.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Graco has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $89.25.

Graco 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.