JPMorgan Chase & Co. Decreases Stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. trimmed its holdings in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 10.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 678,118 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 78,374 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Graco were worth $59,342,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of GGG. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Graco during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Graco by 187.8% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 495 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank bought a new position in Graco during the third quarter worth $59,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in Graco in the third quarter worth $67,000. Finally, Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in Graco by 60.4% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 953 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 359 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Graco Trading Up 0.7 %

GGG opened at $84.08 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $87.09 and its 200-day moving average is $84.06. The stock has a market cap of $14.20 billion, a PE ratio of 29.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.84. Graco Inc. has a twelve month low of $77.49 and a twelve month high of $94.77.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.05). Graco had a return on equity of 21.24% and a net margin of 22.87%. The business had revenue of $519.21 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $538.19 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.76 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current year.

Graco Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Shareholders 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on GGG. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Graco from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. 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 note on Friday, October 25th. BNP Paribas upgraded Graco from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $79.00 price objective on shares of Graco in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $93.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Caroline M. Chambers sold 8,280 shares of Graco 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 57,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,217,918.84. The trade was a 12.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Peter J. O’shea sold 18,075 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $1,604,337.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 14,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,288,440.16. This trade represents a 55.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 31,098 shares of company stock worth $2,776,150. 2.63% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.