Marks Group Wealth Management Inc Trims Stock Holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Marks Group Wealth Management Inc reduced its stake in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 92,807 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,749 shares during the period. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc’s holdings in Graco were worth $7,823,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Graco during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Graco during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of Graco by 187.8% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 495 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank bought a new position in Graco in the 3rd quarter worth $59,000. Finally, MilWealth Group LLC bought a new position in Graco in the 4th quarter worth $63,000. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Graco Price Performance

NYSE:GGG opened at $85.79 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $14.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.42, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.84. Graco Inc. has a 1 year low of $77.49 and a 1 year high of $94.77. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $85.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $84.77.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The industrial products company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

Graco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 20th were given a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.28%. This is a boost from Graco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on GGG. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on 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 lowered their price target on Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of Graco from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Graco has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $91.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Caroline M. Chambers sold 8,280 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.57, for a total value of $749,919.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 57,612 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,217,918.84. This trade represents a 12.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Peter J. O’shea sold 18,075 shares of Graco stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $1,604,337.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 14,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,288,440.16. This represents a 55.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 27,882 shares of company stock worth $2,492,145. 2.63% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.