Sarasin & Partners LLP Cuts Stock Holdings in Graco Inc. $GGG

Sarasin & Partners LLP decreased its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 92.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 21,789 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 267,632 shares during the quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP’s holdings in Graco were worth $1,786,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Graco by 0.3% during the second quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 41,431 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,562,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in Graco by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,755 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $149,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Graco by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,849 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $242,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in Graco by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,874 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $159,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Viawealth LLC increased its stake in Graco by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Viawealth LLC now owns 53,195 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,519,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GGG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Graco in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Graco from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Graco from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Graco in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $96.00 price objective on Graco in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $96.50.

Graco Stock Performance

Shares of GGG opened at $83.96 on Friday. Graco Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $72.06 and a fifty-two week high of $95.69. The business has a 50-day moving average of $89.74 and a 200 day moving average of $85.34. The firm has a market cap of $13.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.07.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 26th. The industrial products company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.77. The business had revenue of $593.16 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $591.99 million. Graco had a net margin of 23.33% and a return on equity of 19.49%. The company’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.64 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Investors of record on Monday, April 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.295 per share. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 13th. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.19%.

Graco announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Friday, December 5th that authorizes the company to buyback 15,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Graco

In other Graco news, EVP Kathryn L. Schoenrock sold 2,223 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.06, for a total transaction of $195,757.38. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 7,846 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $690,918.76. The trade was a 22.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Timothy R. White sold 1,469 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.70, for a total value of $133,238.30. Following the sale, the insider owned 51,430 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,664,701. This represents a 2.78% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 19,394 shares of company stock valued at $1,739,326 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.19% of the company’s stock.

Graco Company Profile

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.