Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Shares Sold by Hilltop National Bank

Hilltop National Bank lowered its position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 8.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,409 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 132 shares during the quarter. Hilltop National Bank’s holdings in Graco were worth $119,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of GGG. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Graco in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in shares of Graco in the 3rd quarter valued at about $59,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Graco in the 3rd quarter valued at about $67,000. Finally, Huntington National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Graco by 60.4% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 953 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 359 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Graco

In related news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,216 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.31, for a total value of $284,004.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 27,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,406,094.26. This trade represents a 10.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Caroline M. Chambers sold 8,280 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.57, for a total value of $749,919.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 57,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,217,918.84. This represents a 12.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 31,098 shares of company stock valued at $2,776,150 over the last quarter. 2.63% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Graco Price Performance

Shares of Graco stock opened at $80.70 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $87.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $84.11. Graco Inc. has a 12 month low of $77.49 and a 12 month high of $94.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.52, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.84.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.05). Graco had a net margin of 22.87% and a return on equity of 21.24%. The firm had revenue of $519.21 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $538.19 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.76 EPS. Graco’s revenue was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graco Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.36%. This is a boost from Graco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GGG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Graco from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. BNP Paribas raised Graco from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $79.00 price target on shares of Graco in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on 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 three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Graco presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $93.20.

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.