WealthPlan Investment Management LLC Sells 52,931 Shares of Graco Inc. $GGG

WealthPlan Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 43.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 68,928 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 52,931 shares during the period. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Graco were worth $5,650,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AE Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Graco by 32.7% during the fourth quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 398,336 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $32,652,000 after purchasing an additional 98,141 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Graco by 432.6% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 85,654 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,263,000 after purchasing an additional 69,573 shares during the last quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG boosted its holdings in Graco by 191.8% during the third quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 8,809 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $744,000 after purchasing an additional 5,790 shares during the last quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd boosted its holdings in Graco by 40.5% during the third quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 45,544 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,869,000 after purchasing an additional 13,130 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Graco during the fourth quarter worth about $3,527,000. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Graco News

Here are the key news stories impacting Graco this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research slightly raised Graco’s Q1 2027 EPS estimate to $0.74 from $0.73, signaling a marginally better outlook for that period.
• Positive Sentiment: The firm also nudged Q4 2026 EPS higher to $0.83 from $0.82, indicating a small improvement in late-2026 earnings expectations.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several longer-term forecasts remain constructive, including FY2027 EPS of $3.40 and FY2028 EPS of $3.93, suggesting analysts still expect growth over time.
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research cut FY2026 EPS to $3.09 from $3.18, which is below the current consensus of $3.13 and points to some near-term earnings risk.
• Negative Sentiment: The firm also lowered Q2 2026 EPS to $0.81 from $0.83 and trimmed Q2 2027, Q3 2027, Q4 2027, Q1 2028, and FY2028 estimates, reinforcing a softer medium-term outlook for Graco.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Andrea Helen Simon bought 1,240 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $80.53 per share, for a total transaction of $99,857.20. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 1,240 shares in the company, valued at $99,857.20. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 2.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Graco Stock Down 1.1%

GGG opened at $75.70 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $12.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.66, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.96. Graco Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.58 and a twelve month high of $95.69. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $84.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $85.13.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $540.14 million during 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 was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.70 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 3.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on GGG. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 price target on shares of Graco in a report on Friday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Graco from $96.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 24th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Graco in a report on Monday, April 27th. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Graco in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Graco from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Graco presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.25.

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.