Alps Advisors Inc. Sells 4,122 Shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Alps Advisors Inc. trimmed its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 22.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,554 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 4,122 shares during the quarter. Alps Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Graco were worth $1,215,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Graco in the 4th quarter worth about $177,434,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Graco by 26,738.4% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,841,916 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $155,255,000 after buying an additional 1,835,053 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Graco by 36.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,929,952 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $162,676,000 after buying an additional 518,462 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its holdings in Graco by 76.0% in the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,147,341 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $96,709,000 after buying an additional 495,293 shares during the last quarter. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Graco by 48.1% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,497,164 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $126,196,000 after buying an additional 486,277 shares during the period. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,588 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.23, for a total value of $309,393.24. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 27,520 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,373,049.60. The trade was a 11.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 2.19% of the company's stock.

Graco Price Performance

Shares of Graco stock traded down $0.50 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $87.17. The company had a trading volume of 642,982 shares, compared to its average volume of 832,701. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $85.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.92. Graco Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $72.06 and a fifty-two week high of $92.86. The firm has a market cap of $14.57 billion, a PE ratio of 30.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.06.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.02. Graco had a net margin of 22.70% and a return on equity of 19.42%. The firm had revenue of $528.28 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $526.98 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.65 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be given a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.26%. Graco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Graco in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Graco presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $93.00.

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.