Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Increases Stock Position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 328,306 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,485 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 0.19% of Graco worth $28,730,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. PineStone Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Graco by 134.4% during the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,169,176 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $330,532,000 after acquiring an additional 2,390,602 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Graco by 244.4% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,990,742 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $174,210,000 after purchasing an additional 1,412,704 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Graco in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,502,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in shares of Graco by 54.2% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 814,321 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $64,502,000 after purchasing an additional 286,212 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Graco by 32.1% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,069,292 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $84,775,000 after buying an additional 259,819 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Graco Stock Performance

NYSE:GGG opened at $89.62 on Friday. Graco Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $77.49 and a fifty-two week high of $94.77. The firm has a market cap of $15.13 billion, a PE ratio of 31.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.82. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $85.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $82.47.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.05). Graco had a net margin of 22.87% and a return on equity of 21.24%. The firm had revenue of $519.21 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $538.19 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.76 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 2.92 EPS for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st were issued a dividend of $0.255 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 21st. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.14%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Graco

In other news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,216 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.31, for a total transaction of $284,004.96. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 27,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,406,094.26. The trade was a 10.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.63% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.