Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Buys 2,924 Shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 1.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 171,736 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,924 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Graco were worth $15,029,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in Graco by 671.9% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,320 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $123,000 after buying an additional 1,149 shares during the last quarter. Norden Group LLC bought a new stake in Graco during the 1st quarter worth approximately $289,000. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its position in Graco by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 17,752 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,659,000 after purchasing an additional 1,377 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in Graco by 49.8% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 140,067 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $13,091,000 after purchasing an additional 46,568 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new position in Graco in the first quarter worth $301,000. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Graco Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of GGG stock opened at $84.60 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $14.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.41, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.82. Graco Inc. has a 12 month low of $76.28 and a 12 month high of $94.77. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $83.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $82.28.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.05). Graco had a return on equity of 21.24% and a net margin of 22.87%. The business had revenue of $519.21 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $538.19 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.76 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 2.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be paid a $0.255 dividend. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 21st. Graco’s payout ratio is 36.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Graco from $96.00 to $93.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $79.00 price target on shares of Graco in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.25.

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.