Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Raises Holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 13.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Graco were worth $1,484,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in GGG. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Graco by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,085,518 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,245,193,000 after purchasing an additional 726,245 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Graco by 874.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 440,363 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,094,000 after purchasing an additional 395,150 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Graco by 429.4% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 226,870 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $19,683,000 after purchasing an additional 184,018 shares in the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. acquired a new stake in Graco in the 4th quarter valued at $12,376,000. Finally, WealthPlan Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Graco by 154,542.0% in the 3rd quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 125,260 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,129,000 after purchasing an additional 125,179 shares in the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Graco Price Performance

Shares of Graco stock opened at $89.52 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $91.23 and a 200-day moving average of $84.82. The company has a market capitalization of $15.08 billion, a PE ratio of 30.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.81. Graco Inc. has a 1-year low of $68.78 and a 1-year high of $94.77.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $566.64 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $565.86 million. Graco had a return on equity of 24.61% and a net margin of 23.07%. On average, equities analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.14%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Angela F. Wordell sold 3,588 shares of Graco stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 12,725 shares in the company, valued at $1,191,060. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Graco news, insider Timothy R. White sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.82, for a total value of $232,050.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 48,282 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,481,535.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Angela F. Wordell sold 3,588 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 12,725 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,191,060. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 48,378 shares of company stock worth $4,376,528. Corporate insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Graco from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Graco from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Graco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Graco presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.80.

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.