Ridgewood Investments LLC lessened its stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG – Get Rating) by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,191 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 429 shares during the quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC's holdings in Graco were worth $1,021,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new position in shares of Graco in the first quarter valued at about $24,447,000. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Graco by 5.9% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,002,722 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $418,510,000 after acquiring an additional 331,804 shares in the last quarter. Nuance Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Graco in the first quarter valued at about $15,127,000. TD Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Graco by 78.6% in the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. now owns 457,508 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $31,897,000 after acquiring an additional 201,335 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eaton Vance Management grew its stake in shares of Graco by 41.4% in the fourth quarter. Eaton Vance Management now owns 643,060 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $51,503,000 after acquiring an additional 188,315 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.47% of the company's stock.

Graco Price Performance

Shares of GGG traded up $0.43 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $60.45. The company had a trading volume of 1,499 shares, compared to its average volume of 545,717. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $65.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $64.21. Graco Inc. has a 1-year low of $56.48 and a 1-year high of $81.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a current ratio of 3.01. The company has a market capitalization of $10.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.78.

Graco Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 17th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 14th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.39%. Graco's payout ratio is currently 33.07%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Eric Etchart sold 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.20, for a total value of $403,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 31,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,110,281.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Graco news, EVP David M. Ahlers sold 44,949 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.77, for a total transaction of $3,181,040.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 65,135 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,609,603.95. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Eric Etchart sold 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.20, for a total transaction of $403,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 31,403 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,110,281.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.52% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GGG has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Graco from $80.00 to $70.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 9th. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of Graco from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $61.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, July 14th. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their price objective on shares of Graco to $70.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Graco currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $71.00.

About Graco

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Graco Inc designs, manufactures, and markets systems and equipment used to move, measure, control, dispense, and spray fluid and powder materials worldwide. The company's Industrial segment offers proportioning systems to spray polyurethane foam and polyurea coatings; equipment that pumps, meters, mixes and dispenses sealant, adhesive, and composite materials; and gel-coat equipment, chop and wet-out systems, resin transfer molding systems and applicators, and precision dispensing solutions.

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