Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Sells 35,309 Shares of Graco Inc. $GGG

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. reduced its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 53.7% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 30,411 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 35,309 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Graco were worth $2,614,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Graco by 320.7% in the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 345 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 263 shares during the last quarter. eCIO Inc. bought a new stake in Graco in the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Graco during the 1st quarter valued at $41,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its position in Graco by 41.5% during the second quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 481 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Graco by 982.6% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 498 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 452 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on GGG shares. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Graco in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird set a $89.00 price target on shares of Graco in a report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Graco from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.00.

Graco Stock Performance

NYSE:GGG opened at $81.59 on Friday. Graco Inc. has a 52 week low of $72.06 and a 52 week high of $92.86. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $83.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $84.46. The firm has a market cap of $13.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.08.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by ($0.02). Graco had a net margin of 22.72% and a return on equity of 18.89%. The business had revenue of $543.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $563.07 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.71 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 5th. Investors of record on Monday, October 20th were given a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 20th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.54%.

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.