Buckhead Capital Management LLC Increases Stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Buckhead Capital Management LLC increased its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 8.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,977 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 476 shares during the quarter. Buckhead Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Graco were worth $519,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in Graco by 298.9% in the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 714 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 535 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC bought a new position in Graco in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,992,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Graco by 19.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 68,477 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,991,000 after purchasing an additional 11,139 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Graco by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 30,968 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,257,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bridges Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Graco during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,217,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Graco Price Performance

Graco stock traded up $0.12 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $80.32. The company had a trading volume of 1,493,536 shares, compared to its average volume of 683,115. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $90.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $85.12. The firm has a market cap of $13.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.81. Graco Inc. has a 12-month low of $69.78 and a 12-month high of $94.77.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The industrial products company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.09). Graco had a net margin of 23.15% and a return on equity of 23.01%. The business had revenue of $492.19 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $536.19 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.74 earnings per share. Graco’s quarterly revenue was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.255 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.27%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.17%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Angela F. Wordell sold 3,588 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.60, for a total transaction of $335,836.80. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 12,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,191,060. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, VP Angela F. Wordell sold 3,588 shares of Graco stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.60, for a total transaction of $335,836.80. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 12,725 shares in the company, valued at $1,191,060. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Anthony J. Gargano sold 1,395 shares of Graco stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.00, for a total value of $122,760.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,697 shares in the company, valued at $501,336. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 48,378 shares of company stock valued at $4,376,528. Company insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GGG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Graco from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Graco from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. StockNews.com downgraded Graco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Graco from $90.00 to $87.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Graco in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Graco has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $88.25.

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.