WealthPlan Investment Management LLC Sells 2,823 Shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

WealthPlan Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 121,308 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,823 shares during the period. Graco makes up about 1.0% of WealthPlan Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest holding. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC owned 0.07% of Graco worth $10,225,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN grew its position in Graco by 3.4% in the third quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 419,942 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,749,000 after acquiring an additional 13,876 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Graco by 254.8% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 195,533 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $17,111,000 after purchasing an additional 140,417 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Graco by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 328,306 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,730,000 after purchasing an additional 8,485 shares during the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of Graco by 359.2% during the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 640,474 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $53,986,000 after buying an additional 501,003 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Graco by 25.8% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 31,991 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,800,000 after buying an additional 6,571 shares in the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Graco Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE:GGG opened at $85.84 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a fifty day moving average of $84.88 and a 200 day moving average of $84.80. Graco Inc. has a 52 week low of $77.49 and a 52 week high of $94.77.

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

Graco Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Monday, April 14th will be paid a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.28%. Graco’s payout ratio is currently 39.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on GGG. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Graco from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded Graco from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Graco currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $91.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Graco Company 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.