WealthPLAN Partners LLC Has $4.77 Million Stock Position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

WealthPLAN Partners LLC lessened its holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 56,600 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,091 shares during the quarter. WealthPLAN Partners LLC’s holdings in Graco were worth $4,771,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. boosted its stake in Graco by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. now owns 4,860 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $410,000 after buying an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Graco by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. now owns 27,923 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,354,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Graco by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 4,222 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $369,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Optas LLC grew its holdings in shares of Graco by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Optas LLC now owns 3,360 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $283,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group increased its position in Graco by 39.1% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 484 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Graco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GGG opened at $85.84 on Friday. Graco Inc. has a 52 week low of $77.49 and a 52 week high of $94.77. The firm has a market cap of $14.49 billion, a PE ratio of 30.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.84. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $84.88 and its 200-day moving average is $84.80.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The industrial products company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.77 by ($0.13). Graco had a return on equity of 19.38% and a net margin of 23.00%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be given a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.28%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Graco

In other Graco news, insider Caroline M. Chambers sold 8,280 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.57, for a total transaction of $749,919.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 57,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,217,918.84. This represents a 12.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathryn L. Schoenrock sold 1,527 shares of Graco stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.30, for a total value of $137,888.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $575,572.20. This trade represents a 19.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on GGG shares. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Graco from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, BNP Paribas raised Graco from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $91.50.

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.