Graco Inc. $GGG Shares Acquired by Pacer Advisors Inc.

Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 15.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 228,044 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 30,035 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Graco were worth $18,693,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Field & Main Bank purchased a new stake in Graco during the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in Graco by 982.6% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 498 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 452 shares during the period. Matrix Trust Co increased its position in shares of Graco by 43.0% in the fourth quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 555 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Graco by 41.6% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 746 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Graco Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:GGG opened at $76.06 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $12.62 billion, a PE ratio of 24.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $78.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $84.05. Graco Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.26 and a 12-month high of $95.69.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.75 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $540.14 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $561.35 million. Graco had a return on equity of 18.66% and a net margin of 22.96%.Graco’s revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.70 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Investors of record on Monday, July 20th will be issued a $0.295 dividend. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 20th. Graco’s payout ratio is currently 38.44%.

Insider Transactions at Graco

In other news, Director Andrea Helen Simon bought 1,240 shares of Graco stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The shares were bought at an average price of $80.53 per share, with a total value of $99,857.20. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 1,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $99,857.20. This represents a ? increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GGG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Graco from $96.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 target price on shares of Graco in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Graco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Graco in a report on Monday, April 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Graco currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $94.25.

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.