Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Has $2.32 Million Position in Graco Inc. $GGG

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 67.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 27,357 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 11,033 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Graco were worth $2,324,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in GGG. ICW Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Graco by 4.6% in the third quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,849 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $242,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Graco in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $724,000. MQS Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Graco in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $309,000. Profund Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Graco by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 3,783 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $321,000 after buying an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Finally, D.B. Root & Company LLC lifted its position in shares of Graco by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC now owns 13,814 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,174,000 after buying an additional 867 shares during the period. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on GGG. Robert W. Baird set a $96.00 price target on Graco in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Graco in a report on Monday, February 2nd. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Graco in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Graco from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Graco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $96.50.

Insider Transactions at Graco

In other Graco news, insider Timothy R. White sold 1,469 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.70, for a total transaction of $133,238.30. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 51,430 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,664,701. This represents a 2.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Angela F. Wordell sold 2,832 shares of Graco stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.22, for a total transaction of $263,999.04. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 13,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,245,419.20. This represents a 17.49% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 19,394 shares of company stock worth $1,739,326. Insiders own 2.19% of the company’s stock.

Graco Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:GGG opened at $94.61 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $15.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.08. Graco Inc. has a 12 month low of $72.06 and a 12 month high of $95.69. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $86.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $84.48.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The industrial products company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77. The company had revenue of $593.16 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $591.99 million. Graco had a net margin of 23.33% and a return on equity of 19.49%. Graco’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.64 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 13th will be paid a $0.295 dividend. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 13th. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.19%.

Graco announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Friday, December 5th that allows the company to buyback 15,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

About Graco

Graco Inc is a leading manufacturer of fluid handling systems and components, headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded in 1926, the company has built a reputation for innovation in spray finishing, lubrication, and fluid management technologies. Graco’s solutions are designed to address the needs of paint and coatings applicators, general industry, and process fluids in a variety of end markets.

The company’s product portfolio includes airless and air-assisted spray equipment, pumps for oil and gas applications, industrial lubrication systems, and automated dispensing equipment.