Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Shares Sold by Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund cut its stake in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 62.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,834 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 18,166 shares during the quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in Graco were worth $948,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Graco by 72.8% during the 1st quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 4,583 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $428,000 after buying an additional 1,931 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Graco in the first quarter valued at approximately $212,000. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in Graco by 209.5% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 27,969 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,614,000 after purchasing an additional 18,931 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC increased its stake in Graco by 63.3% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 6,748 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $631,000 after purchasing an additional 2,616 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Graco by 6.3% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,397 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $190,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Graco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GGG opened at $90.72 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $86.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.00. Graco Inc. has a 1-year low of $77.49 and a 1-year high of $94.77. The company has a market cap of $15.32 billion, a PE ratio of 32.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.82.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last issued its 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). The firm had revenue of $519.21 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $538.19 million. Graco had a net margin of 22.87% and a return on equity of 21.24%. The firm’s revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.76 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st were given a $0.255 dividend. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.12%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 21st. Graco’s payout ratio is 36.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Graco

In other news, EVP Kathryn L. Schoenrock sold 1,527 shares of Graco stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.30, for a total transaction of $137,888.10. Following the completion of the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Peter J. O’shea sold 18,075 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 14,516 shares in the company, 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 quarter, insiders sold 22,818 shares of company stock valued at $2,026,230. 2.63% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GGG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Graco from $96.00 to $93.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $79.00 target price on shares of Graco in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Graco currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.25.

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.