Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Sells 8,103 Shares of Graco Inc. $GGG

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 2.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 321,265 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 8,103 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.19% of Graco worth $27,195,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Field & Main Bank bought a new stake in Graco in the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Graco by 982.6% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 498 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 452 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Graco by 43.2% during the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 504 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the period. Matrix Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Graco by 43.0% in the 4th quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 555 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Graco by 41.6% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 746 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on GGG. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Graco in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Graco from $96.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Graco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Graco in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut shares of Graco from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $94.25.

Insider Transactions at Graco

In other news, Director Andrea Helen Simon bought 1,240 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The shares were bought at an average price of $80.53 per share, for a total transaction of $99,857.20. Following the purchase, the director owned 1,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $99,857.20. The trade was a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.18% of the company’s stock.

Graco Stock Performance

NYSE GGG opened at $73.85 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $12.26 billion, a PE ratio of 24.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.93. The business’s fifty day moving average is $75.53 and its 200 day moving average is $83.15. Graco Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $72.51 and a fifty-two week high of $95.69.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by ($0.09). Graco had a return on equity of 18.66% and a net margin of 22.96%.The company had revenue of $540.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $561.35 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.70 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 3.1 EPS for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Investors of record on Monday, July 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.295 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 20th. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Graco’s payout ratio is 38.44%.

Graco Company Profile

Graco Inc is a leading manufacturer of fluid handling systems and components, headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded in 1926, the company has built a reputation for innovation in spray finishing, lubrication, and fluid management technologies. Graco’s solutions are designed to address the needs of paint and coatings applicators, general industry, and process fluids in a variety of end markets.

The company’s product portfolio includes airless and air-assisted spray equipment, pumps for oil and gas applications, industrial lubrication systems, and automated dispensing equipment.