Graco Inc. $GGG Shares Acquired by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,475,883 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 32,160 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Graco were worth $125,391,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in Graco in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. CX Institutional raised its holdings in shares of Graco by 316.7% during the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 475 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 361 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Graco by 42.6% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 465 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Graco by 982.6% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 498 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 452 shares during the period. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Graco by 116.9% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 514 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Graco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GGG opened at $88.61 on Monday. Graco Inc. has a 12 month low of $72.06 and a 12 month high of $95.69. The stock has a market cap of $14.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.68, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.07. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $89.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $85.30.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The industrial products company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77. Graco had a return on equity of 19.49% and a net margin of 23.33%.The firm had revenue of $593.16 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $591.99 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.64 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 13th will be issued a $0.295 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 13th. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is 38.19%.

Graco announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Friday, December 5th that allows the company to buyback 15,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on GGG. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Graco in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Graco from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Robert W. Baird set a $96.00 price target on Graco in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Graco in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Graco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.50.

Insider Transactions at Graco

In other Graco news, Director J Kevin Gilligan sold 12,870 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.07, for a total value of $1,146,330.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathryn L. Schoenrock sold 2,223 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.06, for a total transaction of $195,757.38. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 7,846 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $690,918.76. The trade was a 22.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 19,394 shares of company stock worth $1,739,326. Corporate insiders own 2.19% of the company’s stock.

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.