Citigroup Inc. Decreases Stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Citigroup Inc. decreased its holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 20.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 80,495 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 20,209 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc.'s holdings in Graco were worth $7,044,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Raymond James Trust N.A. lifted its position in shares of Graco by 59.0% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 9,225 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $807,000 after acquiring an additional 3,422 shares during the period. Portfolio Design Labs LLC purchased a new position in Graco during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,139,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in Graco by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 55,004 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $4,813,000 after acquiring an additional 2,939 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in Graco during the third quarter worth about $686,000. Finally, Prospera Financial Services Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Graco by 13.9% in the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 3,875 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $339,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.88% of the company's stock.

Graco Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of GGG traded up $0.52 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $91.08. The company had a trading volume of 379,912 shares, compared to its average volume of 909,996. Graco Inc. has a 1-year low of $77.49 and a 1-year high of $94.77. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $86.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $83.00. The stock has a market cap of $15.38 billion, a PE ratio of 32.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.82.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.05). Graco had a net margin of 22.87% and a return on equity of 21.24%. The company had revenue of $519.21 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $538.19 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.76 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 21st were paid a $0.255 dividend. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 21st. Graco's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.04%.

Insider Transactions at Graco

In related news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,216 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 27,246 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,406,094.26. This represents a 10.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Peter J. O'shea sold 18,075 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 14,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,288,440.16. This represents a 55.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 22,818 shares of company stock worth $2,026,230. 2.63% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on GGG. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Graco from $96.00 to $93.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. 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. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $79.00 price target on shares of Graco in a report on Friday, September 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Graco has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $89.25.

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.