Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Stock Position Reduced by Barclays PLC

Barclays PLC cut its position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 44.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 132,078 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 106,251 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned approximately 0.08% of Graco worth $11,558,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of GGG. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Graco by 220.9% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 690 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in shares of Graco by 8.8% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 354,159 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $28,078,000 after buying an additional 28,693 shares in the last quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Graco by 15.1% during the second quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 30,646 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,430,000 after buying an additional 4,032 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Graco in the second quarter worth approximately $481,000. Finally, Harvey Investment Co. LLC boosted its position in shares of Graco by 2.9% in the second quarter. Harvey Investment Co. LLC now owns 5,380 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $427,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Graco

In other Graco news, insider Peter J. O'shea sold 18,075 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 14,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,288,440.16. This represents a 55.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,216 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.31, for a total value of $284,004.96. Following the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 31,098 shares of company stock valued at $2,776,150 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.63% of the company's stock.

Graco Price Performance

GGG stock traded down $1.22 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $86.21. 550,239 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 742,867. The company has a market capitalization of $14.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.46, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.83. Graco Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $77.49 and a fifty-two week high of $94.77. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $87.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $83.65.

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

Graco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 20th will be given a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.28%. This is a boost from Graco's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. Graco's payout ratio is 38.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GGG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Graco from $96.00 to $93.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. DA Davidson reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $79.00 target price on shares of Graco in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $89.25.

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.