North Point Portfolio Managers Corp OH Sells 3,702 Shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

North Point Portfolio Managers Corp OH reduced its holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 158,560 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,702 shares during the quarter. Graco makes up about 2.3% of North Point Portfolio Managers Corp OH’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. North Point Portfolio Managers Corp OH owned about 0.09% of Graco worth $13,365,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Graco by 244.4% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,990,742 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $174,210,000 after acquiring an additional 1,412,704 shares during the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP lifted its position in shares of Graco by 359.2% in the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 640,474 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $53,986,000 after purchasing an additional 501,003 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Graco by 6.3% in the 3rd 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 period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Graco by 142.9% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 652,048 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $57,061,000 after buying an additional 383,599 shares during the period. Finally, Sarasin & Partners LLP bought a new position in Graco during the fourth quarter worth $23,446,000. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Kathryn L. Schoenrock sold 1,527 shares of Graco stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.30, for a total transaction of $137,888.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $575,572.20. The trade was a 19.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Peter J. O’shea sold 18,075 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $1,604,337.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 14,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,288,440.16. This trade represents a 55.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 31,098 shares of company stock worth $2,776,150. Insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Graco Stock Performance

Shares of Graco stock opened at $85.62 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.46 billion, a PE ratio of 30.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.84. Graco Inc. has a 52 week low of $77.49 and a 52 week high of $94.77. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $86.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $84.61.

Graco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. This is a positive change from Graco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Graco’s payout ratio is 38.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

About Graco

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.