North Point Portfolio Managers Corp OH Lowers Position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

North Point Portfolio Managers Corp OH lessened its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 97.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,115 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 154,445 shares during the quarter. North Point Portfolio Managers Corp OH's holdings in Graco were worth $344,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Graco by 118.0% during the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 351 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the period. National Pension Service acquired a new position in shares of Graco during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Graco during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Graco in the 4th quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Sit Investment Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Graco in the fourth quarter valued at about $80,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.88% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,588 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.23, for a total transaction of $309,393.24. Following the sale, the insider now owns 27,520 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,373,049.60. This represents a 11.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.19% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Graco Stock Performance

Shares of Graco stock traded down $0.27 on Wednesday, hitting $85.27. The company had a trading volume of 597,921 shares, compared to its average volume of 808,711. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $83.58 and a 200-day moving average of $83.86. 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 released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $528.28 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $526.98 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.65 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.29%. Graco's 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.