New York State Teachers Retirement System Cuts Stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

New York State Teachers Retirement System reduced its stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 7.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 177,368 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 13,726 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.11% of Graco worth $14,950,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. boosted its holdings in Graco by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. now owns 4,860 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $410,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. raised its position in shares of Graco by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. now owns 27,923 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,354,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its stake in Graco by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 4,222 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $369,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Optas LLC grew its position in Graco by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Optas LLC now owns 3,360 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $283,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group increased its stake in Graco by 39.1% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 484 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.88% of the company's stock.

Graco Stock Performance

Shares of GGG traded up $0.02 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $87.18. 507,955 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 776,355. The stock has a market cap of $14.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $84.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $84.88. Graco Inc. has a 1 year low of $77.49 and a 1 year high of $94.77.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The industrial products company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by ($0.13). Graco had a net margin of 23.00% and a return on equity of 19.38%. On average, analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be issued a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 14th. Graco's dividend payout ratio is 39.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on GGG shares. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. BNP Paribas raised Graco from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $105.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Graco from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Graco has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $91.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Graco news, EVP Kathryn L. Schoenrock sold 1,527 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.30, for a total transaction of $137,888.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,374 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $575,572.20. This represents a 19.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Caroline M. Chambers sold 8,280 shares of Graco stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.57, for a total transaction of $749,919.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 57,612 shares in the company, valued at $5,217,918.84. This represents a 12.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.63% of the company's stock.

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.