Eukles Asset Management Reduces Stock Position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Eukles Asset Management cut its holdings in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 18,737 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 145 shares during the period. Eukles Asset Management’s holdings in Graco were worth $1,579,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Graco by 6.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,458,988 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $652,736,000 after buying an additional 443,141 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Graco by 4.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,152,292 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $362,808,000 after buying an additional 188,579 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Graco by 244.4% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,990,742 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $174,210,000 after acquiring an additional 1,412,704 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Graco by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,111,152 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $97,237,000 after purchasing an additional 43,923 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Port Capital LLC raised its holdings in Graco by 0.3% in the third quarter. Port Capital LLC now owns 783,483 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $68,563,000 after buying an additional 2,125 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Graco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GGG opened at $84.88 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $85.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $84.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.10, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.84. Graco Inc. has a 52-week low of $77.49 and a 52-week high of $94.77.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The industrial products company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by ($0.13). Graco had a return on equity of 19.38% and a net margin of 23.00%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 20th were given a dividend of $0.275 per share. This is an increase from Graco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.30%. Graco’s payout ratio is presently 39.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Graco from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Graco from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Graco presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $91.50.

Insider Transactions at Graco

In other Graco news, insider Peter J. O’shea sold 18,075 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $1,604,337.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 14,516 shares in the company, valued at $1,288,440.16. This represents a 55.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathryn L. Schoenrock sold 1,527 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,374 shares in the company, valued at $575,572.20. This trade represents a 19.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 27,882 shares of company stock worth $2,492,145 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Graco Company 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.