Kestra Investment Management LLC Grows Position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Kestra Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 55.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,921 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,391 shares during the quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Graco were worth $331,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in shares of Graco by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 81,543 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,136,000 after buying an additional 4,514 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Graco by 165.1% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,829 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $160,000 after purchasing an additional 1,139 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Graco by 48.5% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,106 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $97,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank purchased a new position in shares of Graco during the third quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Finally, Narwhal Capital Management boosted its position in shares of Graco by 29.0% in the 3rd quarter. Narwhal Capital Management now owns 92,313 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,078,000 after purchasing an additional 20,728 shares in the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GGG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Graco from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Graco from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Graco presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $91.50.

Insider Transactions at Graco

In related news, insider Caroline M. Chambers sold 8,280 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.57, for a total value of $749,919.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 57,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,217,918.84. This trade represents a 12.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Kathryn L. Schoenrock sold 1,527 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.30, for a total value of $137,888.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $575,572.20. This represents a 19.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Graco Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE GGG opened at $87.18 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $84.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $84.88. Graco Inc. has a 52-week low of $77.49 and a 52-week high of $94.77. The company has a market cap of $14.72 billion, a PE ratio of 30.91, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.84.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The industrial products company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.77 by ($0.13). Graco had a return on equity of 19.38% and a net margin of 23.00%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 14th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.26%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.01%.

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.