M&T Bank Corp Lowers Stock Position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

M&T Bank Corp cut its holdings in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 40.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 37,951 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 25,928 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp's holdings in Graco were worth $3,169,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GGG. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its holdings in shares of Graco by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 14,548 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,226,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Graco by 0.8% in the first quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. now owns 23,084 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,927,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Graco by 118.0% in 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. Carlson Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of Graco by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Carlson Capital Management now owns 26,699 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,250,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Optas LLC grew its holdings in shares of Graco by 6.0% in the first quarter. Optas LLC now owns 3,560 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,588 shares of Graco stock in a transaction on 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 owned 27,520 shares in the company, valued at $2,373,049.60. The trade was a 11.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Graco Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of Graco stock traded down $1.17 on Friday, hitting $87.64. The stock had a trading volume of 628,133 shares, compared to its average volume of 800,598. The stock has a market cap of $14.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.97, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.06. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $85.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $83.93. Graco Inc. has a one year low of $72.06 and a one year 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 the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $528.28 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $526.98 million. Graco had a net margin of 22.70% and a return on equity of 19.42%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.65 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st will be issued a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. Graco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.87%.

Graco Profile

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.