XXEC Inc. Has $4.63 Million Stock Holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

XXEC Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 1.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 49,550 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 838 shares during the period. Graco comprises about 3.5% of XXEC Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. XXEC Inc.’s holdings in Graco were worth $4,631,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Tobam grew its stake in shares of Graco by 2,330.8% during the fourth quarter. Tobam now owns 316 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Graco during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Graco during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Graco in the 1st quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Northwest Financial Advisors bought a new position in Graco in the fourth quarter valued at about $50,000. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Graco Stock Down 2.2 %

Graco stock traded down $1.84 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $80.16. 789,110 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 673,351. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.56 billion, a PE ratio of 27.64, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.81. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $90.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $85.07. Graco Inc. has a twelve month low of $69.78 and a twelve month high of $94.77.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its 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 business had revenue of $492.19 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $536.19 million. Graco had a return on equity of 23.01% and a net margin of 23.15%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.74 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 3.14 EPS for the current year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on GGG. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Graco in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Graco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Graco from $90.00 to $87.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group raised 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Graco currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $88.25.

Insider Transactions at Graco

In other Graco news, VP Angela F. Wordell sold 3,588 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 12,725 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,191,060. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Graco news, VP Angela F. Wordell sold 3,588 shares of the company’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 sale, the vice president now owns 12,725 shares in the company, valued at $1,191,060. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Timothy R. White sold 2,895 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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. 2.63% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Graco

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.