Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Shares Sold by Assetmark Inc.

Assetmark Inc. reduced its stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 93.3% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,240 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 17,365 shares during the quarter. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in Graco were worth $104,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in GGG. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Graco in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Graco by 128.9% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 689 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. Sit Investment Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Graco in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $80,000. USA Financial Formulas boosted its position in Graco by 43.6% in the 1st quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 1,057 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $88,000 after buying an additional 321 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in shares of Graco by 21.1% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,834 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $153,000 after acquiring an additional 319 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Graco Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of GGG opened at $82.58 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.28, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.04. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $85.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $84.17. Graco Inc. has a twelve month low of $72.06 and a twelve month high of $92.86.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.03). Graco had a net margin of 22.26% and a return on equity of 19.05%. The business had revenue of $571.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $590.57 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.77 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be given a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Graco

In related news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,588 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.23, for a total transaction of $309,393.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 27,520 shares in the company, valued at $2,373,049.60. The trade was a 11.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on GGG shares. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Graco in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Graco from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.50.

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.