Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 52,548 Shares of Graco Inc. $GGG

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,406,309 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 52,548 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Graco were worth $197,249,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GGG. AE Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Graco by 32.7% during the 4th quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 398,336 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,652,000 after buying an additional 98,141 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in Graco by 432.6% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 85,654 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,263,000 after buying an additional 69,573 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its stake in Graco by 154.2% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 64,341 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,466,000 after buying an additional 39,031 shares in the last quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG boosted its stake in Graco by 191.8% in the third quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 8,809 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $744,000 after buying an additional 5,790 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd grew its position in Graco by 40.5% during the third quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 45,544 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,869,000 after acquiring an additional 13,130 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GGG has been the topic of several research reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Graco from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Graco in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of Graco in a report on Friday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Graco from $96.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Graco in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Graco currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.25.

Graco Price Performance

Shares of Graco stock opened at $78.69 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $86.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $85.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.96. Graco Inc. has a one year low of $77.70 and a one year high of $95.69.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by ($0.09). Graco had a net margin of 22.96% and a return on equity of 18.66%. The company had revenue of $540.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $561.35 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.70 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 13th will be given a dividend of $0.295 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 13th. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Andrea Helen Simon purchased 1,240 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $80.53 per share, with a total value of $99,857.20. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 1,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $99,857.20. The trade was a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Angela F. Wordell sold 2,832 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.22, for a total transaction of $263,999.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 13,360 shares in the company, valued at $1,245,419.20. The trade was a 17.49% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 2.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Graco

Graco Inc is a leading manufacturer of fluid handling systems and components, headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded in 1926, the company has built a reputation for innovation in spray finishing, lubrication, and fluid management technologies. Graco’s solutions are designed to address the needs of paint and coatings applicators, general industry, and process fluids in a variety of end markets.

The company’s product portfolio includes airless and air-assisted spray equipment, pumps for oil and gas applications, industrial lubrication systems, and automated dispensing equipment.