Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Stock Position Reduced by Amalgamated Bank

Amalgamated Bank lowered its position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 3.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 78,378 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 3,042 shares during the quarter. Amalgamated Bank's holdings in Graco were worth $6,545,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its position in Graco by 118.0% during the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 351 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Graco in the fourth quarter valued at about $46,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Graco by 128.9% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 689 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. Sit Investment Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Graco in the 4th quarter valued at about $80,000. Finally, USA Financial Formulas lifted its holdings in Graco by 43.6% during the 1st quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 1,057 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $88,000 after buying an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.88% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wolfe Research started coverage on Graco in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Graco currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $93.00.

Insider Activity

In other Graco news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,588 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.23, for a total value of $309,393.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 27,520 shares in the company, valued at $2,373,049.60. This trade represents a 11.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 2.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Graco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GGG traded up $0.30 on Thursday, hitting $88.79. The company's stock had a trading volume of 466,993 shares, compared to its average volume of 801,375. The company has a market capitalization of $14.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.06. The stock's 50-day moving average is $84.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $83.79. Graco Inc. has a 12 month low of $72.06 and a 12 month high of $92.86.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $528.28 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $526.98 million. Graco had a return on equity of 19.42% and a net margin of 22.70%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.65 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be issued a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. Graco's dividend payout ratio is currently 38.87%.

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.