Confluence Investment Management LLC Sells 13,988 Shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Confluence Investment Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 705,427 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 13,988 shares during the quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Graco were worth $59,460,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Graco during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in Graco by 187.8% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 495 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in Graco in the 3rd quarter valued at about $59,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in Graco during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $67,000. Finally, Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in Graco by 60.4% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 953 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 359 shares in the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Graco Stock Down 0.9 %

NYSE:GGG traded down $0.73 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $83.56. 94,687 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 743,439. Graco Inc. has a one year low of $77.49 and a one year high of $94.77. The company has a market cap of $14.11 billion, a PE ratio of 29.53, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.83. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $87.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $84.01.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its quarterly 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 return on equity of 21.24% and a net margin of 22.87%. The firm had revenue of $519.21 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $538.19 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.76 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current year.

Graco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 20th will be issued a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. This is a positive change from Graco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.32%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Graco from $96.00 to $93.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Graco from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $79.00 target price on shares of Graco in a report on Friday, September 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $92.40.

Insider Activity at Graco

In other Graco news, insider Caroline M. Chambers sold 8,280 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.57, for a total value of $749,919.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 57,612 shares in the company, valued at $5,217,918.84. The trade was a 12.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathryn L. Schoenrock sold 1,527 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.30, for a total transaction of $137,888.10. Following the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 31,098 shares of company stock valued at $2,776,150. 2.63% of the stock is owned by 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.