NewEdge Wealth LLC Sells 1,880 Shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

NewEdge Wealth LLC reduced its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 38,911 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,880 shares during the quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC’s holdings in Graco were worth $3,376,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ellis Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Graco in the fourth quarter valued at about $201,000. Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new position in Graco in the fourth quarter valued at about $339,000. Priebe Wealth Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Graco in the fourth quarter valued at about $210,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Graco by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 61,550 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,340,000 after purchasing an additional 3,073 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stiles Financial Services Inc grew its stake in Graco by 31.9% in the fourth quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc now owns 14,577 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,265,000 after purchasing an additional 3,527 shares during the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Graco

In related news, insider Timothy R. White sold 2,895 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.49, for a total value of $253,283.55. Following the sale, the insider now owns 50,782 shares in the company, valued at $4,442,917.18. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, VP Angela F. Wordell sold 3,588 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was 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 $1,191,060. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Timothy R. White sold 2,895 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.49, for a total value of $253,283.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 50,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,442,917.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 48,378 shares of company stock worth $4,376,528 over the last quarter. Insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Graco Stock Performance

Shares of GGG stock opened at $89.47 on Friday. Graco Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $68.78 and a fifty-two week high of $94.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.43, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.81. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $91.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $83.98.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $566.64 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $565.86 million. Graco had a return on equity of 24.61% and a net margin of 23.07%. As a group, equities analysts forecast 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 given a $0.255 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.14%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.69%.

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.