Trexquant Investment LP Buys 52,549 Shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Trexquant Investment LP increased its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 462.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 63,923 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 52,549 shares during the quarter. Trexquant Investment LP’s holdings in Graco were worth $5,388,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. grew its position in shares of Graco by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. now owns 4,860 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $410,000 after buying an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. lifted its stake in Graco by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. now owns 27,923 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,354,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the period. Optas LLC grew its holdings in Graco by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Optas LLC now owns 3,360 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $283,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its position in Graco by 39.1% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 484 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of Graco by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 14,548 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,226,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Graco Price Performance

Shares of GGG stock opened at $75.70 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $84.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $85.56. Graco Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.64 and a 1-year high of $93.01. The company has a market cap of $12.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.83.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The industrial products company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by ($0.13). Graco had a net margin of 23.00% and a return on equity of 19.38%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Monday, April 14th will be issued a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 14th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GGG has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Graco from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. BNP Paribas raised Graco from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $85.00 price objective on Graco in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $93.00.

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.