Private Wealth Partners LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Private Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 15.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,060 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,260 shares during the period. Private Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Graco were worth $1,480,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tobam raised its holdings in shares of Graco by 2,330.8% during the fourth quarter. Tobam now owns 316 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Graco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new position in shares of Graco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Graco by 3,063.2% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 601 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 582 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Graco by 370.7% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 626 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 493 shares during the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Angela F. Wordell sold 3,588 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.60, for a total value of $335,836.80. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 12,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,191,060. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Graco news, insider Timothy R. White sold 2,895 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 50,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,442,917.18. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Angela F. Wordell sold 3,588 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 12,725 shares in the company, valued at $1,191,060. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 48,378 shares of company stock valued at $4,376,528 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Graco Price Performance

Shares of GGG traded down $0.57 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $82.56. The stock had a trading volume of 1,086,315 shares, compared to its average volume of 621,942. Graco Inc. has a 1 year low of $69.78 and a 1 year high of $94.77. The firm has a market cap of $13.96 billion, a PE ratio of 28.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.81. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $91.03 and its 200 day moving average is $84.96.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The industrial products company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $492.19 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $536.19 million. Graco had a return on equity of 23.01% and a net margin of 23.15%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.74 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

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

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.