Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC Has $37.14 Million Holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC lowered its stake in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 0.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 440,634 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 244 shares during the period. Graco makes up approximately 2.6% of Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC owned about 0.26% of Graco worth $37,141,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Graco in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Graco by 187.8% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 495 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in Graco in the 3rd quarter valued at about $59,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of Graco during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $67,000. Finally, Huntington National Bank lifted its position in shares of Graco by 60.4% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 953 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $83,000 after buying an additional 359 shares in the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on GGG shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Graco from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $79.00 target price on shares of Graco in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Graco from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $91.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Graco news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,216 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.31, for a total value of $284,004.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 27,246 shares in the company, valued at $2,406,094.26. This trade represents a 10.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Peter J. O’shea sold 18,075 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $1,604,337.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 14,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,288,440.16. This represents a 55.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 31,098 shares of company stock valued at $2,776,150. Company insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Graco Price Performance

Shares of GGG opened at $85.26 on Tuesday. Graco Inc. has a 1 year low of $77.49 and a 1 year high of $94.77. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $86.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $84.40. The firm has a market cap of $14.40 billion, a PE ratio of 30.13, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.84.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $519.21 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $538.19 million. Graco had a net margin of 22.87% and a return on equity of 21.24%. The company’s revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.76 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Investors of record on Monday, January 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. This is a boost from Graco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. Graco’s dividend payout ratio 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.