Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Has $60.84 Million Position in Graco Inc. $GGG

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL cut its holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 1.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 716,095 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 7,467 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL’s holdings in Graco were worth $60,839,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in Graco during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its position in Graco by 320.7% in the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 345 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 263 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Graco by 42.6% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 465 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. CX Institutional lifted its holdings in shares of Graco by 316.7% during the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 475 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 361 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Graco by 982.6% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 498 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 452 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Graco Trading Down 2.9%

Shares of NYSE GGG opened at $88.61 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $89.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $85.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.68, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.07. Graco Inc. has a one year low of $72.06 and a one year high of $95.69.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The industrial products company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77. The firm had revenue of $593.16 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $591.99 million. Graco had a net margin of 23.33% and a return on equity of 19.49%. The business’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.64 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 13th will be given a dividend of $0.295 per share. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 13th. Graco’s payout ratio is 38.19%.

Graco declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Friday, December 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase 15,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GGG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Graco in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Graco from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Graco in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Graco from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $96.00 target price on shares of Graco in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $96.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Graco

In other Graco news, Director J Kevin Gilligan sold 12,870 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.07, for a total transaction of $1,146,330.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Timothy R. White sold 1,469 shares of Graco stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.70, for a total value of $133,238.30. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 51,430 shares in the company, valued at $4,664,701. The trade was a 2.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 19,394 shares of company stock valued at $1,739,326 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.19% of the company’s stock.

Graco Company Profile

Graco Inc is a leading manufacturer of fluid handling systems and components, headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded in 1926, the company has built a reputation for innovation in spray finishing, lubrication, and fluid management technologies. Graco’s solutions are designed to address the needs of paint and coatings applicators, general industry, and process fluids in a variety of end markets.

The company’s product portfolio includes airless and air-assisted spray equipment, pumps for oil and gas applications, industrial lubrication systems, and automated dispensing equipment.