New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 13,911 Shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

New York State Common Retirement Fund lowered its position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 362,645 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 13,911 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.21% of Graco worth $31,463,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tobam increased its position in shares of Graco by 2,330.8% during the fourth quarter. Tobam now owns 316 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Graco in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Graco in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in Graco by 3,063.2% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 601 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 582 shares during the period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in Graco by 370.7% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 626 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 493 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Graco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Graco from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Graco from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.80.

Insider Activity at Graco

In related news, VP Angela F. Wordell sold 3,588 shares of Graco stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.60, for a total transaction of $335,836.80. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 12,725 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,191,060. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Graco news, VP Angela F. Wordell sold 3,588 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.60, for a total value of $335,836.80. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 12,725 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,191,060. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Christian E. Rothe sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.04, for a total transaction of $1,350,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 25,583 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,303,493.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 48,378 shares of company stock worth $4,376,528. 2.63% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Graco Stock Performance

GGG opened at $83.12 on Friday. Graco Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $68.78 and a fifty-two week high of $94.77. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $91.25 and its 200 day moving average is $84.85. The stock has a market cap of $14.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.81.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The industrial products company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.09). Graco had a net margin of 23.15% and a return on equity of 23.43%. The firm had revenue of $492.19 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $536.19 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.74 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.255 per share. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.17%.

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.