Entropy Technologies LP Has $882,000 Holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Entropy Technologies LP lessened its holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 49.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 10,461 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 10,342 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP’s holdings in Graco were worth $882,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Graco by 187.8% in the third 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. Procyon Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Graco by 31.3% in the 3rd quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 3,457 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $303,000 after purchasing an additional 824 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its position in shares of Graco by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 81,543 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,136,000 after purchasing an additional 4,514 shares during the last quarter. B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Graco by 53.7% during the third quarter. B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC now owns 4,367 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $382,000 after purchasing an additional 1,525 shares during the period. Finally, Walter Public Investments Inc. increased its holdings in Graco by 13.1% in the third quarter. Walter Public Investments Inc. now owns 167,039 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $14,618,000 after purchasing an additional 19,364 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Graco Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE:GGG opened at $85.88 on Tuesday. Graco Inc. has a 1 year low of $77.49 and a 1 year high of $94.77. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $85.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $84.76. The stock has a market cap of $14.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.45, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.84.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last posted its 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Investors of record on Monday, January 20th were issued a dividend of $0.275 per share. 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 of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.01%.

Insider Activity at Graco

In related news, insider Peter J. O’shea sold 18,075 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 14,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,288,440.16. The trade was a 55.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathryn L. Schoenrock sold 1,527 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.30, for a total value of $137,888.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $575,572.20. This trade represents a 19.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 27,882 shares of company stock valued at $2,492,145. 2.63% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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