M&T Bank Corp Sells 23,208 Shares of Graco Inc. $GGG

Key Points

• M&T Bank cut its stake in Graco by 72.9%, selling 23,208 shares in Q4 and leaving 8,643 shares valued at about $708,000.
• Graco missed quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $0.66 versus $0.75 expected and revenue of $540.14 million versus $561.35 million consensus.
• Insiders sold 19,394 shares over the past three months (roughly $1.74 million), including sales by Timothy R. White and director J. Kevin Gilligan; insiders now own about 2.18% of the company.

M&T Bank Corp reduced its holdings in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 72.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,643 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 23,208 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp's holdings in Graco were worth $708,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Graco by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,571,060 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $643,237,000 after acquiring an additional 99,097 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Graco by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,458,857 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $208,908,000 after acquiring an additional 75,285 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Graco by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 2,076,887 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $176,016,000 after acquiring an additional 53,126 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Graco by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,865,673 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $158,508,000 after acquiring an additional 14,764 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Graco by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,572,598 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $133,608,000 after acquiring an additional 42,381 shares during the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Timothy R. White sold 1,469 shares of Graco stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.70, for a total value of $133,238.30. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 51,430 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,664,701. This trade represents a 2.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director J Kevin Gilligan sold 12,870 shares of Graco stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.07, for a total value of $1,146,330.90. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 19,394 shares of company stock worth $1,739,326. Insiders own 2.18% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GGG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Graco from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of Graco in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Graco from $96.00 to $92.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 24th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Graco in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Graco from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $94.25.

Graco Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE GGG opened at $79.17 on Friday. Graco Inc. has a twelve month low of $78.87 and a twelve month high of $95.69. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $86.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $85.39. The firm has a market cap of $13.14 billion, a PE ratio of 25.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.96.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by ($0.09). Graco had a net margin of 22.96% and a return on equity of 18.66%. The company had revenue of $540.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $561.35 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.70 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 13th will be issued a $0.295 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 13th. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Graco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.44%.

Graco Company 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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