FORA Capital LLC Sells 6,685 Shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

FORA Capital LLC trimmed its stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 64.7% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 3,646 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 6,685 shares during the quarter. FORA Capital LLC’s holdings in Graco were worth $319,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gradient Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Graco during the second quarter worth $27,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Graco during the third quarter worth $30,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Graco by 187.8% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 495 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Graco by 220.9% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 690 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of Graco during the third quarter worth $59,000. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Graco Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE:GGG opened at $91.08 on Friday. Graco Inc. has a 1-year low of $77.49 and a 1-year high of $94.77. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $86.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.18, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.82.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.05). Graco had a net margin of 22.87% and a return on equity of 21.24%. The company had revenue of $519.21 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $538.19 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.76 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st were paid a $0.255 dividend. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.12%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 21st. Graco’s payout ratio is 36.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GGG has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Graco from $96.00 to $93.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $79.00 price target on shares of Graco in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Graco

In related news, insider Peter J. O’shea sold 18,075 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $1,604,337.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 14,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,288,440.16. This trade represents a 55.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathryn L. Schoenrock sold 1,527 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.30, for a total value of $137,888.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $575,572.20. The trade was a 19.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 22,818 shares of company stock valued at $2,026,230. 2.63% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.