Captrust Financial Advisors Boosts Holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,434 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 434 shares during the quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors’ holdings in Graco were worth $1,788,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Gradient Investments LLC acquired a new position in Graco during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Graco in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Graco by 187.8% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 495 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in Graco during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $59,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Graco by 220.9% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 690 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Activity at Graco

In other news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,216 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.31, for a total value of $284,004.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 27,246 shares in the company, valued at $2,406,094.26. The trade was a 10.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Kathryn L. Schoenrock sold 1,527 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $575,572.20. This trade represents a 19.33 % 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 worth $2,776,150. 2.63% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Graco Stock Performance

NYSE:GGG opened at $89.52 on Friday. Graco Inc. has a one year low of $77.49 and a one year high of $94.77. The firm has a market cap of $15.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.63, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.83. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $86.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $83.24.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $519.21 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $538.19 million. Graco had a net margin of 22.87% and a return on equity of 21.24%. The firm’s revenue was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.76 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Investors of record on Monday, January 20th will be given a dividend of $0.275 per share. This is a boost from Graco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.04%.

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.