Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. Decreases Stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. reduced its position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 31.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,878 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 7,714 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.’s holdings in Graco were worth $1,423,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp increased its position in Graco by 6.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,458,988 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $652,736,000 after purchasing an additional 443,141 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Graco by 4.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,152,292 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $362,808,000 after purchasing an additional 188,579 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Graco by 244.4% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,990,742 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $174,210,000 after purchasing an additional 1,412,704 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in Graco by 4.1% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,111,152 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $97,237,000 after purchasing an additional 43,923 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Port Capital LLC increased its position in Graco by 0.3% during the third quarter. Port Capital LLC now owns 783,483 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $68,563,000 after purchasing an additional 2,125 shares during the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Graco Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of Graco stock opened at $83.33 on Tuesday. Graco Inc. has a 52-week low of $77.49 and a 52-week high of $94.77. The company has a 50 day moving average of $85.82 and a 200 day moving average of $84.67. The company has a market capitalization of $14.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.84.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The industrial products company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by ($0.13). Graco had a return on equity of 19.38% and a net margin of 23.00%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 20th will be given a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. This is an increase from Graco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Graco’s payout ratio is currently 39.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Transactions at Graco

In other news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,216 shares of Graco stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.31, for a total value of $284,004.96. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 27,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,406,094.26. The trade was a 10.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Kathryn L. Schoenrock sold 1,527 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were 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 directly owns 6,374 shares in the company, valued at $575,572.20. This represents a 19.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 31,098 shares of company stock worth $2,776,150. 2.63% of the stock is currently owned by 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.