Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Graco Inc. $GGG

Key Points

• Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC sold down its stake in Graco Inc. (GGG) by 22.4% in Q4, ending the period with 88,250 shares valued at about $7.48 million.
• Graco recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.295 per share (annualized $1.18, ~1.4% yield) and a board-authorized share buyback program of up to 15 million shares.
• Analysts lean positive on the stock—MarketBeat shows an average rating of “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $96.50, and several firms have raised targets (Jefferies to $105, RBC to $100).

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC decreased its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 22.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 88,250 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 25,431 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Graco worth $7,477,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in GGG. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in Graco during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in Graco by 42.6% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 465 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. CX Institutional lifted its position in shares of Graco by 316.7% during the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 475 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Graco by 982.6% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 498 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 452 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Graco by 116.9% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 514 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.88% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird set a $96.00 target price on Graco in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. DA Davidson reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Graco in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Graco from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group raised 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Graco from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Graco has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $96.50.

Graco Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of GGG stock opened at $83.82 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $13.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.12, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a 50 day moving average of $89.56 and a 200-day moving average of $85.33. Graco Inc. has a 12-month low of $72.06 and a 12-month high of $95.69.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 26th. The industrial products company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.77. Graco had a return on equity of 19.49% and a net margin of 23.33%.The business had revenue of $593.16 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $591.99 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.64 earnings per share. Graco's revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 13th will be given a dividend of $0.295 per share. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 13th. Graco's dividend payout ratio is currently 38.19%.

Graco announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Friday, December 5th that allows the company to buyback 15,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Graco

In related news, EVP Angela F. Wordell sold 2,832 shares of Graco stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.22, for a total value of $263,999.04. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 13,360 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,245,419.20. This trade represents a 17.49% 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 the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.07, for a total value of $1,146,330.90. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 19,394 shares of company stock worth $1,739,326 over the last 90 days. 2.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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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