Graco Inc. $GGG Shares Purchased by SG Americas Securities LLC

SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 186.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 123,655 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 80,421 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Graco were worth $10,136,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Graco during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. CX Institutional increased its holdings in shares of Graco by 316.7% in the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 475 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Graco by 42.6% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 465 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Graco by 116.9% during the third 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 currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Graco news, Director J Kevin Gilligan sold 12,870 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.07, for a total transaction of $1,146,330.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathryn L. Schoenrock sold 2,223 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.06, for a total value of $195,757.38. Following the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 19,394 shares of company stock worth $1,739,326 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GGG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Graco from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Robert W. Baird set a $96.00 price target on Graco in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Graco in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Graco from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Graco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $96.50.

Graco Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE:GGG opened at $83.82 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $13.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $89.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $85.33. Graco Inc. has a twelve month low of $72.06 and a twelve month 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, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.77. The company had revenue of $593.16 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $591.99 million. Graco had a net margin of 23.33% and a return on equity of 19.49%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.64 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Friday, December 5th that permits the company to repurchase 15,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Graco Announces Dividend

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

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.