Graco Inc. $GGG Shares Bought by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 36.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 190,747 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 51,317 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Graco were worth $15,636,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GGG. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Graco by 15.6% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 330,409 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,592,000 after acquiring an additional 44,573 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Graco by 982.6% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 498 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 452 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Graco by 0.9% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,079,571 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $92,811,000 after purchasing an additional 9,702 shares during the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Graco by 122.0% during the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 33,236 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,959,000 after purchasing an additional 18,262 shares during the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd grew its stake in Graco by 262.1% in the second quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 11,729 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,008,000 after purchasing an additional 8,490 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GGG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Graco from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Graco in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Robert W. Baird set a $96.00 price target on Graco in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Graco in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Graco from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $96.50.

Graco Trading Down 1.7%

NYSE:GGG opened at $84.62 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $89.64 and a 200-day moving average of $85.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.03 billion, a PE ratio of 27.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.07. Graco Inc. has a 52 week low of $72.06 and a 52 week high of $95.69.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The industrial products company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.77. Graco had a return on equity of 19.49% and a net margin of 23.33%.The business had revenue of $593.16 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $591.99 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.64 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 13th will be paid a $0.295 dividend. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 13th. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.19%.

Graco announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Friday, December 5th that permits the company to repurchase 15,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Timothy R. White sold 1,469 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.70, for a total transaction of $133,238.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 51,430 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,664,701. The trade was a 2.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Angela F. Wordell sold 2,832 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.22, for a total transaction of $263,999.04. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 13,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,245,419.20. This represents a 17.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 19,394 shares of company stock valued at $1,739,326. 2.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Graco Profile

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.