Graco Inc. $GGG Shares Sold by Snyder Capital Management L P

Key Points

• Snyder Capital Management trimmed its stake in Graco by 1.6%, selling 13,899 shares and leaving it with 833,641 shares valued at about $70.8 million.
• Graco reported Q results in line with expectations—EPS of $0.77 and revenue of $593.16 million (+8.1% Y/Y)—and its board approved a 15 million-share repurchase authorization.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.295 (annualized $1.18, yield ~1.3%), while insiders sold roughly 19,394 shares (~$1.74 million) over the past three months.

Snyder Capital Management L P lowered its stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 1.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 833,641 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 13,899 shares during the quarter. Snyder Capital Management L P owned about 0.50% of Graco worth $70,826,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Graco by 0.3% in the second quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 41,431 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,562,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in shares of Graco by 7.7% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,755 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $149,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. ICW Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Graco by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,849 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $242,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in Graco by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,874 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $159,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Viawealth LLC increased its stake in Graco by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Viawealth LLC now owns 53,195 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,519,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the period. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Graco Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE GGG opened at $93.01 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $15.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.07. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $88.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $85.24. Graco Inc. has a 12-month low of $72.06 and a 12-month high of $95.69.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The industrial products company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77. The company had revenue of $593.16 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $591.99 million. Graco had a return on equity of 19.49% and a net margin of 23.33%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.64 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Friday, December 5th that permits the company to repurchase 15,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 13th will be paid a $0.295 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 13th. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Graco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on GGG shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Graco from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. KeyCorp reissued a "sector weight" rating on shares of Graco in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Graco from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Graco from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Graco in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $96.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Graco news, EVP Kathryn L. Schoenrock sold 2,223 shares of Graco stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.06, for a total transaction of $195,757.38. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 7,846 shares of the company's stock, valued at $690,918.76. The trade was a 22.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director J Kevin Gilligan sold 12,870 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.07, for a total value of $1,146,330.90. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 19,394 shares of company stock worth $1,739,326. 2.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Graco Profile

Graco Inc is a leading manufacturer of fluid handling systems and components, headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded in 1926, the company has built a reputation for innovation in spray finishing, lubrication, and fluid management technologies. Graco's solutions are designed to address the needs of paint and coatings applicators, general industry, and process fluids in a variety of end markets.

The company's product portfolio includes airless and air-assisted spray equipment, pumps for oil and gas applications, industrial lubrication systems, and automated dispensing equipment.

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