Running Oak Capital LLC Sells 10,944 Shares of Graco Inc. $GGG

Running Oak Capital LLC trimmed its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 5.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 175,433 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 10,944 shares during the quarter. Running Oak Capital LLC’s holdings in Graco were worth $14,380,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its stake in Graco by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 75,870 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,219,000 after acquiring an additional 11,529 shares during the period. True North Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Graco during the 4th quarter valued at about $239,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in Graco during the 4th quarter valued at about $269,000. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new position in shares of Graco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,855,000. Finally, Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Graco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $320,000. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GGG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird set a $96.00 price objective on shares of Graco in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Graco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Graco in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Graco in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Graco from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $96.50.

Graco Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of GGG opened at $87.52 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $14.51 billion, a PE ratio of 28.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.09. Graco Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.91 and a 12 month high of $95.69. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $89.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $85.39.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last announced its 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 the consensus estimate of $591.99 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.64 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current year.

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 dividend of $0.295 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 13th. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is 38.19%.

Insider Activity at Graco

In other Graco news, insider Timothy R. White sold 1,469 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.70, for a total transaction of $133,238.30. Following the transaction, the insider owned 51,430 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,664,701. This represents a 2.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Angela F. Wordell sold 2,832 shares of Graco stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.22, for a total transaction of $263,999.04. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 13,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,245,419.20. The trade was a 17.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 19,394 shares of company stock valued at $1,739,326. Company insiders own 2.18% of the company’s stock.

About Graco

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.