Mutual of America Capital Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 5.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 98,432 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 5,759 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC owned about 0.06% of Graco worth $8,614,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Gradient Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Graco during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. bought a new stake in Graco during the 1st quarter valued at $43,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Graco by 187.8% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 495 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Graco by 220.9% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 690 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Graco during the 3rd quarter worth $59,000. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Graco

In related news, insider Peter J. O'shea sold 18,075 shares of Graco stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $1,604,337.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 14,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,288,440.16. This trade represents a 55.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,216 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 27,246 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,406,094.26. This represents a 10.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.63% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Graco from $96.00 to $93.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $79.00 target price on shares of Graco in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $89.25.

Graco Trading Down 3.0 %

Shares of Graco stock traded down $2.69 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $87.48. The stock had a trading volume of 907,871 shares, compared to its average volume of 747,374. The stock's 50 day moving average is $85.31 and its 200 day moving average is $82.55. Graco Inc. has a twelve month low of $77.49 and a twelve month high of $94.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.77 billion, a PE ratio of 31.34, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.82.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts' expectations of $538.19 million. Graco had a return on equity of 21.24% and a net margin of 22.87%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.76 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 2.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st were paid a $0.255 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 21st. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.17%. Graco's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.04%.

Graco Company 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.