Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Stock Position Reduced by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lessened its position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 4.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 56,021 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,483 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Graco were worth $4,902,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GGG. PineStone Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Graco by 134.4% in the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,169,176 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $330,532,000 after purchasing an additional 2,390,602 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Graco by 244.4% in 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. M&G Plc bought a new stake in shares of Graco in the 1st quarter worth approximately $44,069,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Graco in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,502,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Graco by 54.2% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 814,321 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $64,502,000 after purchasing an additional 286,212 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,216 shares of Graco stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.31, for a total transaction of $284,004.96. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 27,246 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,406,094.26. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 2.63% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Graco from $96.00 to $93.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $79.00 target price on shares of Graco in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.25.

Graco Price Performance

GGG opened at $89.04 on Tuesday. Graco Inc. has a 12 month low of $77.03 and a 12 month high of $94.77. The stock has a market cap of $15.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.82. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $84.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $82.27.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.05). Graco had a net margin of 22.87% and a return on equity of 21.24%. The firm had revenue of $519.21 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $538.19 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.76 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 2.92 EPS for the current year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 21st were given a dividend of $0.255 per share. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 21st. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.04%.

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.