Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Shares Sold by Grimes & Company Inc.

Grimes & Company Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 63.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 50,961 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 86,736 shares during the period. Grimes & Company Inc.'s holdings in Graco were worth $4,256,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Graco by 118.0% in the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 351 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. National Pension Service bought a new position in Graco in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Graco in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Graco in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Graco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $61,000. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Graco in a report on Wednesday. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Two investment 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.com, Graco presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $93.00.

Graco Price Performance

Shares of GGG stock traded down $0.65 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $83.96. The stock had a trading volume of 1,759,139 shares, compared to its average volume of 852,117. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.03 billion, a PE ratio of 29.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $83.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $84.00. Graco Inc. has a twelve month low of $72.06 and a twelve month high of $92.86.

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

Graco Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 1.31%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. Graco's dividend payout ratio is currently 38.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Graco

In other Graco news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,588 shares of the business'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 sale, the insider now directly owns 27,520 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,373,049.60. The trade was a 11.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.