Sandhill Capital Partners LLC Sells 4,849 Shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Sandhill Capital Partners LLC lessened its stake in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 370,601 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 4,849 shares during the quarter. Graco makes up about 2.7% of Sandhill Capital Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Sandhill Capital Partners LLC owned approximately 0.22% of Graco worth $32,153,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Tobam boosted its position in Graco by 2,330.8% during the 4th quarter. Tobam now owns 316 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Graco during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Graco during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Graco by 3,063.2% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 601 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 582 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Graco by 370.7% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 626 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 493 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Graco Price Performance

GGG stock traded down $6.23 during trading on Thursday, hitting $83.12. The stock had a trading volume of 1,665,145 shares, compared to its average volume of 666,216. Graco Inc. has a twelve month low of $68.78 and a twelve month high of $94.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.28, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.81. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $91.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $84.85.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The industrial products company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.09). Graco had a return on equity of 24.61% and a net margin of 23.07%. The firm had revenue of $492.19 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $536.19 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.74 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a $0.255 dividend. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Graco from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. StockNews.com raised Graco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Graco from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Two investment 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 presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Graco news, VP Angela F. Wordell sold 3,588 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.60, for a total value of $335,836.80. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 12,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,191,060. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Graco news, insider Anthony J. Gargano sold 1,395 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.00, for a total value of $122,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 5,697 shares in the company, valued at $501,336. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Angela F. Wordell sold 3,588 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.60, for a total transaction of $335,836.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 12,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,191,060. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 48,378 shares of company stock valued at $4,376,528 in the last ninety days. 2.63% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.