Huntington National Bank Raises Position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Huntington National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 60.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 953 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 359 shares during the quarter. Huntington National Bank’s holdings in Graco were worth $83,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in Graco by 671.9% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,320 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $123,000 after purchasing an additional 1,149 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its stake in Graco by 9.1% in the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 17,900 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,673,000 after acquiring an additional 1,499 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in Graco by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 77,446 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,242,000 after acquiring an additional 3,171 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Graco by 28.5% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 8,159 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $763,000 after purchasing an additional 1,812 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Graco by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 2,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Graco Price Performance

NYSE GGG opened at $90.22 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $85.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $82.55. The company has a market capitalization of $15.23 billion, a PE ratio of 31.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.82. Graco Inc. has a 1 year low of $77.49 and a 1 year high of $94.77.

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

Graco Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Graco

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on GGG shares. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Graco from $96.00 to $93.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $79.00 target price on shares of Graco in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Graco currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $89.25.

Graco Profile

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.