BHK Investment Advisors LLC Sells 275 Shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

BHK Investment Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,423 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 275 shares during the quarter. BHK Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Graco were worth $541,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Graco by 165.1% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,829 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $160,000 after purchasing an additional 1,139 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Graco by 48.5% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,106 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $97,000 after buying an additional 361 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Graco by 45,002.6% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 17,590 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $15,390,000 after buying an additional 17,551 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its stake in Graco by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 4,222 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $369,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Forsta AP Fonden raised its holdings in Graco by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 98,100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,585,000 after acquiring an additional 8,700 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Graco Stock Performance

Shares of GGG stock opened at $86.29 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $84.59 and a 200-day moving average of $85.07. The stock has a market cap of $14.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.84. Graco Inc. has a 52-week low of $77.49 and a 52-week high of $94.77.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The industrial products company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Monday, April 14th will be given a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 14th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.27%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.01%.

Insider Activity 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 value of $137,888.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $575,572.20. The trade was a 19.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Caroline M. Chambers sold 8,280 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.57, for a total value of $749,919.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 57,612 shares in the company, valued at $5,217,918.84. The trade was a 12.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.63% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Graco from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Graco from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, DA Davidson set a $85.00 price target on Graco in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $93.00.

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.