Fmr LLC Acquires 8,166 Shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Fmr LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 33.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 32,418 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,166 shares during the period. Fmr LLC’s holdings in Graco were worth $2,837,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Graco in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,850,000. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in Graco by 194.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 220,661 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $19,339,000 after buying an additional 145,599 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Graco by 10.3% in the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 12,800 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,120,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Cahill Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Graco by 1.2% during the third quarter. Cahill Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 24,936 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,182,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Graco by 93.5% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 13,380 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,171,000 after acquiring an additional 6,464 shares during the period. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Graco Stock Down 0.8 %

Graco stock opened at $87.93 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $87.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $83.52. The stock has a market cap of $14.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.07, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.83. Graco Inc. has a twelve month low of $77.49 and a twelve month 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). Graco had a return on equity of 21.24% and a net margin of 22.87%. The business had revenue of $519.21 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $538.19 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.76 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 20th will be paid a $0.275 dividend. This is a positive change from Graco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Transactions at Graco

In related news, EVP Kathryn L. Schoenrock sold 1,527 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.30, for a total transaction of $137,888.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $575,572.20. This trade represents a 19.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Caroline M. Chambers sold 8,280 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.57, for a total value of $749,919.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 57,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,217,918.84. This represents a 12.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 31,098 shares of company stock valued at $2,776,150. Corporate insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Graco Company 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.