Farther Finance Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Farther Finance Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 16.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,192 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 609 shares during the quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC’s holdings in Graco were worth $269,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Graco in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in Graco in the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. National Pension Service purchased a new stake in Graco in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Graco in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Graco in the 4th quarter worth $61,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Graco Stock Down 1.1 %

Graco stock opened at $83.47 on Wednesday. Graco Inc. has a 52-week low of $77.49 and a 52-week high of $94.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.60, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $84.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $85.52.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The industrial products company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.77 by ($0.13). Graco had a net margin of 23.00% and a return on equity of 19.38%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be given a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 14th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.32%. Graco’s payout ratio is 39.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on GGG. BNP Paribas raised shares of Graco from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Graco from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, DA Davidson set a $85.00 target price on shares of Graco in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $93.00.

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.