Commerce Bank Decreases Holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Commerce Bank trimmed its stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 32.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,043 shares during the quarter. Commerce Bank’s holdings in Graco were worth $547,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. M&G Plc increased its holdings in Graco by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. M&G Plc now owns 483,535 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,199,000 after acquiring an additional 9,673 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its position in Graco by 254.8% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 195,533 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $17,111,000 after purchasing an additional 140,417 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Graco by 2.7% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 328,306 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,730,000 after purchasing an additional 8,485 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Graco by 25.8% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 31,991 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,800,000 after purchasing an additional 6,571 shares during the period. Finally, Private Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Graco during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $876,000. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Graco

In related news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,216 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.31, for a total value of $284,004.96. Following 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 value of $1,604,337.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 14,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,288,440.16. This trade represents a 55.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $79.00 price objective on shares of Graco in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Graco from $96.00 to $93.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.25.

Graco Stock Performance

Graco stock opened at $90.61 on Wednesday. Graco Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $77.49 and a fifty-two week high of $94.77. The stock has a market cap of $15.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.07, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.82. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $86.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $82.79.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.71 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $519.21 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $538.19 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.76 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st were paid a $0.255 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 21st. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.13%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.04%.

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.