Tran Capital Management L.P. Has $2.34 Million Stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Tran Capital Management L.P. lowered its stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 7.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 27,794 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,111 shares during the period. Tran Capital Management L.P.’s holdings in Graco were worth $2,343,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Graco during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of Graco by 187.8% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 495 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of Graco during the 3rd quarter worth $59,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in Graco in the 3rd quarter valued at $67,000. Finally, Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in Graco by 60.4% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 953 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 359 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,216 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.31, for a total value of $284,004.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 27,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,406,094.26. This represents a 10.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Peter J. O’shea sold 18,075 shares of Graco stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $1,604,337.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 14,516 shares in the company, valued at $1,288,440.16. The trade was a 55.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 31,098 shares of company stock valued at $2,776,150 over the last ninety days. 2.63% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Graco Stock Performance

Shares of GGG opened at $85.62 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $86.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $84.57. Graco Inc. has a 52 week low of $77.49 and a 52 week high of $94.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.84.

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

Graco Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Investors of record on Monday, January 20th will be paid a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.28%. This is a positive change from Graco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on GGG. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Graco from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. 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. Finally, BNP Paribas raised 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $91.50.

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.