M&T Bank Corp Reduces Stock Holdings in Graco Inc. $GGG

M&T Bank Corp trimmed its holdings in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 72.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,643 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 23,208 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Graco were worth $708,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in Graco during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in Graco by 42.6% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 465 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. CX Institutional grew its stake in Graco by 316.7% during the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 475 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 361 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in Graco by 982.6% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 498 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 452 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its stake in Graco by 116.9% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 514 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on GGG. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Graco in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Graco from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 price target on shares of Graco in a research note on Friday, April 24th. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Graco in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Graco from $96.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Graco presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.25.

Graco Stock Performance

Graco stock opened at $79.17 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $86.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $85.39. The company has a market cap of $13.14 billion, a PE ratio of 25.79, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.96. Graco Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $78.87 and a fifty-two week high of $95.69.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.75 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $540.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $561.35 million. Graco had a net margin of 22.96% and a return on equity of 18.66%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.70 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 13th will be issued a $0.295 dividend. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 13th. Graco’s payout ratio is 38.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Timothy R. White sold 1,469 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.70, for a total value of $133,238.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 51,430 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,664,701. The trade was a 2.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathryn L. Schoenrock sold 2,223 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.06, for a total value of $195,757.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 7,846 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $690,918.76. This trade represents a 22.08% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 19,394 shares of company stock worth $1,739,326. 2.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Graco

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.