Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Holdings Raised by RIA Advisory Group LLC

RIA Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 547.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,676 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,327 shares during the period. Graco comprises about 0.5% of RIA Advisory Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. RIA Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Graco were worth $1,881,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Graco by 16.2% in the 3rd quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 4,198 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $306,000 after acquiring an additional 585 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its position in Graco by 24.0% in the 3rd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 147,612 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,758,000 after purchasing an additional 28,589 shares during the last quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI increased its holdings in shares of Graco by 179.4% during the 4th quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI now owns 77,867 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,756,000 after acquiring an additional 50,000 shares during the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Graco during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,026,000. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of Graco during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,112,000. 93.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Angela F. Wordell sold 3,588 shares of Graco stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.60, for a total value of $335,836.80. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly 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 can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Timothy R. White sold 2,895 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.49, for a total value of $253,283.55. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 50,782 shares in the company, valued at $4,442,917.18. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Angela F. Wordell sold 3,588 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 48,378 shares of company stock valued at $4,376,528. Company insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GGG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Graco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Graco from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Graco from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.80.

Graco Stock Up 0.3 %

GGG stock traded up $0.29 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $88.38. 487,106 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 649,992. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $91.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $84.35. Graco Inc. has a 1-year low of $68.78 and a 1-year high of $94.77. The company has a market cap of $14.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.06, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.81.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $566.64 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $565.86 million. Graco had a return on equity of 24.61% and a net margin of 23.07%. Equities research analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 3.14 EPS for the current year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $0.255 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.15%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.69%.

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.