North Point Portfolio Managers Corp OH Decreases Stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

North Point Portfolio Managers Corp OH lessened its holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 158,560 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,702 shares during the quarter. Graco comprises approximately 2.3% of North Point Portfolio Managers Corp OH’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position. North Point Portfolio Managers Corp OH’s holdings in Graco were worth $13,365,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GGG. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Graco by 6.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,458,988 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $652,736,000 after buying an additional 443,141 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Graco by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,152,292 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $362,808,000 after purchasing an additional 188,579 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Graco by 244.4% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,990,742 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $174,210,000 after purchasing an additional 1,412,704 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Graco by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,111,152 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $97,237,000 after purchasing an additional 43,923 shares during the period. Finally, Port Capital LLC lifted its stake in Graco by 0.3% in the third quarter. Port Capital LLC now owns 783,483 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $68,563,000 after purchasing an additional 2,125 shares during the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Graco

In related news, insider Caroline M. Chambers sold 8,280 shares of Graco stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.57, for a total transaction of $749,919.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 57,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,217,918.84. This trade represents a 12.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Peter J. O’shea sold 18,075 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 represents a 55.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 31,098 shares of company stock valued at $2,776,150. 2.63% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Graco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GGG opened at $85.62 on Monday. Graco Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $77.49 and a fifty-two week high of $94.77. The stock has a market cap of $14.46 billion, a PE ratio of 30.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $86.55 and a 200-day moving average of $84.61.

Graco Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 20th will be given a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. This is a boost from Graco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.28%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on GGG. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Graco from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of Graco from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $91.50.

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.