Voya Investment Management LLC Sells 81,015 Shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Voya Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 73.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,034 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 81,015 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC's holdings in Graco were worth $2,532,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Graco during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Graco by 118.0% during the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 351 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service bought a new stake in Graco in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Graco in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group grew its position in shares of Graco by 39.1% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 484 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the period. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, DA Davidson set a $85.00 target price on Graco in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $93.00.

Graco Stock Performance

GGG stock traded up $0.63 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $82.23. 254,854 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 814,519. Graco Inc. has a 52 week low of $72.06 and a 52 week high of $92.86. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $81.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $84.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.74 billion, a PE ratio of 29.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.09.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.02. Graco had a return on equity of 19.38% and a net margin of 23.00%. The business had revenue of $528.28 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $526.98 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.65 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be paid a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 14th. Graco's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.