Mairs & Power Inc. Sells 42,889 Shares of Graco Inc. $GGG

Mairs & Power Inc. cut its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,934,001 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 42,889 shares during the period. Graco comprises about 3.1% of Mairs & Power Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Mairs & Power Inc.’s holdings in Graco were worth $334,233,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in GGG. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Graco by 15.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 330,409 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,592,000 after buying an additional 44,573 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Graco by 982.6% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 498 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 452 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in Graco by 837.0% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 4,357 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $375,000 after acquiring an additional 3,892 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS grew its stake in Graco by 6.4% in the second quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 42,942 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,692,000 after acquiring an additional 2,580 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Planning lifted its holdings in shares of Graco by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 93,946 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,076,000 after purchasing an additional 419 shares in the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Graco news, EVP Angela F. Wordell sold 2,832 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.22, for a total value of $263,999.04. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 13,360 shares in the company, valued at $1,245,419.20. This trade represents a 17.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director J Kevin Gilligan sold 12,870 shares of Graco stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.07, for a total transaction of $1,146,330.90. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 19,394 shares of company stock valued at $1,739,326 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.19% of the company’s stock.

Graco Stock Performance

GGG opened at $86.42 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $89.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $85.35. Graco Inc. has a 52-week low of $72.06 and a 52-week high of $95.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.33 billion, a PE ratio of 27.97, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.07.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The industrial products company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.77. Graco had a return on equity of 19.49% and a net margin of 23.33%.The firm had revenue of $593.16 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $591.99 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.64 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Friday, December 5th that permits the company to repurchase 15,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 13th will be issued a $0.295 dividend. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 13th. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Graco from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Graco from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Robert W. Baird set a $96.00 target price on Graco in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Graco in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Graco in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Graco currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $96.50.

Graco Company Profile

Graco Inc is a leading manufacturer of fluid handling systems and components, headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded in 1926, the company has built a reputation for innovation in spray finishing, lubrication, and fluid management technologies. Graco’s solutions are designed to address the needs of paint and coatings applicators, general industry, and process fluids in a variety of end markets.

The company’s product portfolio includes airless and air-assisted spray equipment, pumps for oil and gas applications, industrial lubrication systems, and automated dispensing equipment.