Comerica Bank Sells 2,492 Shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Comerica Bank trimmed its position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 114,288 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,492 shares during the period. Comerica Bank owned approximately 0.07% of Graco worth $9,633,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Graco during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Graco by 118.0% in the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the period. National Pension Service bought a new stake in Graco in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Graco during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its stake in shares of Graco by 39.1% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 484 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the period. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Graco Trading Up 2.0 %

GGG stock opened at $83.30 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $13.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.92. Graco Inc. has a 1-year low of $72.06 and a 1-year high of $92.86. The business’s 50 day moving average is $81.87 and its 200-day moving average is $84.53.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $528.28 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $526.98 million. Graco had a net margin of 23.00% and a return on equity of 19.38%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.65 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be issued a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 14th. Graco’s payout ratio is currently 38.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on GGG shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Graco from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. DA Davidson set a $85.00 target price on Graco in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Graco has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $93.00.

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.