Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Purchases New Shares in Graco Inc. $GGG

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 13,454 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,143,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of GGG. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Graco by 3.2% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,458,857 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $208,908,000 after buying an additional 75,285 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its position in Graco by 12.6% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 2,023,761 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $179,083,000 after buying an additional 226,284 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Graco during the 2nd quarter worth about $170,661,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in Graco by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,475,883 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $125,391,000 after acquiring an additional 32,160 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Graco by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,307,387 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $111,070,000 after acquiring an additional 24,136 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GGG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Graco from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Graco in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Graco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Robert W. Baird set a $96.00 price objective on shares of Graco in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Graco from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $96.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Angela F. Wordell sold 2,832 shares of Graco stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.22, for a total transaction of $263,999.04. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 13,360 shares in the company, valued at $1,245,419.20. The trade was a 17.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director J Kevin Gilligan sold 12,870 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.07, for a total value of $1,146,330.90. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 19,394 shares of company stock valued at $1,739,326 in the last three months. Insiders own 2.19% of the company’s stock.

Graco Stock Performance

GGG opened at $86.96 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $89.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $85.37. The firm has a market cap of $14.38 billion, a PE ratio of 28.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.07. Graco Inc. has a twelve month low of $72.06 and a twelve month high of $95.69.

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

Graco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 13th will be paid a $0.295 dividend. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 13th. Graco’s payout ratio is presently 38.19%.

Graco declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Friday, December 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase 15,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

About Graco

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.