Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Decreases Stock Holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd cut its stake in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 43.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,143 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 14,469 shares during the quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd's holdings in Graco were worth $1,675,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Gradient Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Graco during the second quarter valued at $27,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Graco during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Graco by 187.8% during 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 last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank acquired a new position in Graco during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.88% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Caroline M. Chambers sold 8,280 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 57,612 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,217,918.84. This represents a 12.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathryn L. Schoenrock sold 1,527 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.30, for a total value of $137,888.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $575,572.20. This represents a 19.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 31,098 shares of company stock valued at $2,776,150. Corporate insiders own 2.63% of the company's stock.

Graco Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE GGG traded up $0.48 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $90.19. The company's stock had a trading volume of 634,117 shares, compared to its average volume of 746,393. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $87.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.83. Graco Inc. has a 12 month low of $77.49 and a 12 month high of $94.77.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). Graco had a return on equity of 21.24% and a net margin of 22.87%. The firm had revenue of $519.21 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $538.19 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.76 EPS. The company's revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.275 per share. This is a boost from Graco's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. Graco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Graco from $96.00 to $93.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $79.00 price objective 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 issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company 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.