GLOBALT Investments LLC GA Boosts Stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

GLOBALT Investments LLC GA lifted its holdings in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,170 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 572 shares during the period. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA’s holdings in Graco were worth $890,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vident Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Graco by 567.4% during the 1st quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 42,899 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,009,000 after acquiring an additional 36,471 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc boosted its holdings in Graco by 2.0% in the second quarter. M&G Plc now owns 483,535 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,199,000 after purchasing an additional 9,673 shares during the last quarter. Private Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Graco in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $876,000. Achmea Investment Management B.V. raised its stake in Graco by 95.1% during the 2nd quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 17,226 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,365,000 after buying an additional 8,396 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Graco by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 857,281 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $67,965,000 after buying an additional 14,527 shares during the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Graco Stock Up 0.7 %

GGG stock opened at $90.22 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $85.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $82.55. The stock has a market cap of $15.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.88, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.82. Graco Inc. has a twelve month low of $77.49 and a twelve month high of $94.77.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $519.21 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $538.19 million. Graco had a return on equity of 21.24% and a net margin of 22.87%. Graco’s revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.76 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 2.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st were issued a $0.255 dividend. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 21st. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GGG has been the subject of a number of research reports. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $79.00 price objective on shares of Graco in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Graco from $96.00 to $93.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $89.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Peter J. O’shea sold 18,075 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $1,604,337.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 14,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,288,440.16. This trade represents a 55.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,216 shares of Graco stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.31, for a total transaction of $284,004.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 27,246 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,406,094.26. This represents a 10.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.63% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Graco

Graco Inc designs, manufactures, and markets systems and equipment used to move, measure, control, dispense, and spray fluid and powder materials worldwide. The Contractor segment offers sprayers to apply paint to walls and other structures; two-component proportioning systems that are used to spray polyurethane foam and polyurea coatings; and viscous coatings to roofs, as well as markings on roads, parking lots, athletic fields, and floors.