Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 51,241 Shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA trimmed its stake in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 2.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,790,675 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 51,241 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 1.07% of Graco worth $149,539,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Graco during the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Graco by 128.9% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 689 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 388 shares during the period. Sit Investment Associates Inc. bought a new position in Graco during the 4th quarter worth $80,000. Finally, USA Financial Formulas increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 321 shares during the period. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

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. 2.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Graco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GGG traded down $0.88 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $86.82. 566,153 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 798,343. Graco Inc. has a twelve month low of $72.06 and a twelve month high of $92.86. The company has a market cap of $14.51 billion, a PE ratio of 30.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.06. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $85.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $84.00.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $528.28 million for 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.65 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be paid a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. Graco's dividend payout ratio is 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.