Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Shares Bought by K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc

K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 27.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,215 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,950 shares during the quarter. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc’s holdings in Graco were worth $2,014,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Graco by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,085,518 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,245,193,000 after buying an additional 726,245 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Graco by 4.6% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,575,804 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $114,845,000 after purchasing an additional 69,151 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Graco by 8.7% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 994,086 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $72,449,000 after purchasing an additional 79,954 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Graco by 1.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 988,631 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $72,051,000 after purchasing an additional 13,980 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Graco by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 908,793 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $66,233,000 after purchasing an additional 80,631 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Graco news, insider Timothy R. White sold 2,895 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.49, for a total transaction of $253,283.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 50,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,442,917.18. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Timothy R. White sold 2,895 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.49, for a total transaction of $253,283.55. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 50,782 shares in the company, valued at $4,442,917.18. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christian E. Rothe sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.04, for a total value of $1,350,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 25,583 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,303,493.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 48,378 shares of company stock valued at $4,376,528. Insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Graco Stock Performance

Shares of Graco stock traded down $0.57 on Friday, reaching $82.56. 1,086,309 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 672,190. The firm has a market cap of $13.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.81. Graco Inc. has a 1-year low of $69.78 and a 1-year high of $94.77. The company’s 50-day moving average is $91.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.84.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The industrial products company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.09). Graco had a return on equity of 23.43% and a net margin of 23.15%. The company had revenue of $492.19 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $536.19 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.74 earnings per share. Graco’s quarterly revenue was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 3.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a $0.255 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. Graco’s payout ratio is currently 35.17%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Graco in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Graco from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Graco from $90.00 to $87.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Graco from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Graco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.60.

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.