Marks Group Wealth Management Inc Sells 2,749 Shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Marks Group Wealth Management Inc decreased its position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 92,807 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,749 shares during the period. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc owned about 0.05% of Graco worth $7,823,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC grew 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 buying an additional 824 shares during the period. Creative Planning grew 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 buying an additional 4,514 shares during the period. B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Graco by 53.7% in the 3rd quarter. B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC now owns 4,367 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $382,000 after acquiring an additional 1,525 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Walter Public Investments Inc. lifted its position in Graco by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. Walter Public Investments Inc. now owns 167,039 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $14,618,000 after acquiring an additional 19,364 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Graco Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of GGG opened at $85.79 on Wednesday. Graco Inc. has a twelve month low of $77.49 and a twelve month high of $94.77. The company has a market capitalization of $14.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.84. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $85.12 and a 200 day moving average of $84.77.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last posted its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The industrial products company reported $0.64 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

Graco Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 20th were issued a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.28%. This is a boost from Graco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. Graco’s payout ratio is presently 39.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GGG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. BNP Paribas upgraded Graco from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Graco from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $91.50.

Insider Activity at Graco

In other Graco news, EVP Kathryn L. Schoenrock sold 1,527 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 6,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $575,572.20. This represents a 19.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Caroline M. Chambers sold 8,280 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.57, for a total transaction of $749,919.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 57,612 shares in the company, valued at $5,217,918.84. This trade represents a 12.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 27,882 shares of company stock worth $2,492,145 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

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.