Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Sells 4,795 Shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC decreased its stake in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 2.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 180,795 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 4,795 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC owned 0.11% of Graco worth $15,098,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Graco by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,141,579 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,444,864,000 after buying an additional 183,335 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Graco by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,229,385 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $356,053,000 after purchasing an additional 77,093 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Graco in the 4th quarter valued at $177,434,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted 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 purchasing an additional 518,462 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Graco by 26,738.4% in the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 1,835,053 shares during the period. 93.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Graco

In other Graco news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,588 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.23, for a total value of $309,393.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 27,520 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,373,049.60. This represents a 11.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.19% of the company's stock.

Graco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GGG traded down $0.65 on Friday, hitting $83.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,759,139 shares, compared to its average volume of 812,420. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $83.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $83.91. The company has a market capitalization of $14.03 billion, a PE ratio of 29.67, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.07. Graco Inc. has a 1 year low of $72.06 and a 1 year high of $92.86.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last announced its 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. The business had revenue of $528.28 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $526.98 million. Graco had a net margin of 22.70% and a return on equity of 19.42%. Graco's quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.65 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st will be paid a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.31%. Graco's dividend payout ratio is presently 38.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Graco in a research report on Wednesday. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Graco 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.