Brooklyn Investment Group Raises Stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Brooklyn Investment Group raised its holdings in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 39.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 484 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group’s holdings in Graco were worth $41,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Albert D Mason Inc. grew its position in Graco by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. now owns 27,923 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,354,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Graco by 26.6% in the 4th quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 4,378 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $369,000 after acquiring an additional 921 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Graco in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $372,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Graco by 24.2% during the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,939 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,006,000 after buying an additional 2,328 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Graco by 19.2% during the 4th quarter. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,783 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $403,000 after acquiring an additional 769 shares during the period. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Graco Trading Up 0.3 %

Graco stock opened at $85.26 on Monday. Graco Inc. has a 12-month low of $77.49 and a 12-month high of $94.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.84. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $86.87 and a 200 day moving average of $84.36.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $519.21 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $538.19 million. Graco had a return on equity of 21.24% and a net margin of 22.87%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.76 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current year.

Graco Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 20th will be issued a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. This is an increase from Graco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Graco’s payout ratio is 38.87%.

Insider Activity at Graco

In related news, EVP Kathryn L. Schoenrock sold 1,527 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.30, for a total value of $137,888.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $575,572.20. This trade represents a 19.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Caroline M. Chambers sold 8,280 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.57, for a total transaction of $749,919.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 57,612 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,217,918.84. This trade represents a 12.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 31,098 shares of company stock valued at $2,776,150. Corporate insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on GGG. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Graco from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. BNP Paribas upgraded Graco from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $79.00 price target on shares of Graco in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Graco has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $91.50.

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.