Vest Financial LLC Has $2.42 Million Stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Vest Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 62.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,756 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,060 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Graco were worth $2,424,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Graco during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Graco during the third quarter worth 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 valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the period. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in Graco in the 3rd quarter valued at $59,000. Finally, MilWealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Graco during the fourth quarter worth $63,000. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Graco Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of GGG opened at $84.88 on Friday. Graco Inc. has a 12-month low of $77.49 and a 12-month high of $94.77. The stock has a market cap of $14.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.84. The business’s fifty day moving average is $85.32 and its 200 day moving average is $84.72.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The industrial products company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.77 by ($0.13). Graco had a net margin of 23.00% and a return on equity of 19.38%. On average, analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

Graco Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 20th were given a dividend of $0.275 per share. This is an increase from Graco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on GGG shares. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target 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. BNP Paribas raised Graco from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Graco from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $91.50.

Insider Transactions at Graco

In other news, insider Caroline M. Chambers sold 8,280 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.57, for a total value of $749,919.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 57,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,217,918.84. This represents a 12.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathryn L. Schoenrock sold 1,527 shares of Graco 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 owns 6,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $575,572.20. This trade represents a 19.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 27,882 shares of company stock worth $2,492,145 in the last quarter. Insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

About Graco

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.