Summit Global Investments Reduces Stock Position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Summit Global Investments trimmed its holdings in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 56.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,325 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 5,710 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments’ holdings in Graco were worth $375,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Graco by 4.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,085,518 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,245,193,000 after purchasing an additional 726,245 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Graco by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,575,804 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $114,845,000 after buying an additional 69,151 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Graco by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 994,086 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $72,449,000 after buying an additional 79,954 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Graco by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 988,631 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $72,051,000 after acquiring an additional 13,980 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Graco by 9.7% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 908,793 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $66,233,000 after acquiring an additional 80,631 shares during the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on GGG. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Graco from $90.00 to $87.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Graco from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Graco in a research note on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Graco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Graco from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $88.25.

Graco Price Performance

GGG opened at $82.12 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $90.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $85.28. The stock has a market cap of $13.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.84. Graco Inc. has a 1-year low of $69.78 and a 1-year high of $94.77.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The industrial products company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $492.19 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $536.19 million. Graco had a net margin of 23.15% and a return on equity of 23.01%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.74 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th were issued a $0.255 dividend. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 12th. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.17%.

Insider Activity

In other Graco news, insider Timothy R. White sold 2,895 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.49, for a total transaction of $253,283.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 50,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,442,917.18. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Anthony J. Gargano sold 1,395 shares of Graco stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.00, for a total value of $122,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $501,336. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Timothy R. White sold 2,895 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.49, for a total transaction of $253,283.55. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 50,782 shares in the company, valued at $4,442,917.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 48,378 shares of company stock worth $4,376,528 over the last ninety days. 2.63% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Graco

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.