Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Shares Bought by PineStone Asset Management Inc.

PineStone Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,904,681 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 76,184 shares during the period. Graco makes up 2.3% of PineStone Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position. PineStone Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 1.72% of Graco worth $244,836,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of GGG. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Graco in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Graco during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in Graco in the third quarter valued at approximately $59,000. MilWealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in Graco in the 4th quarter worth approximately $63,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Graco during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $67,000. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Graco Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE GGG opened at $85.84 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $14.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.84. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $84.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $84.80. Graco Inc. has a 52-week low of $77.49 and a 52-week high of $94.77.

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

Graco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Monday, April 14th will be paid a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.28%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Graco from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. BNP Paribas upgraded Graco from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $91.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Graco

In related news, insider Caroline M. Chambers sold 8,280 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.57, for a total value of $749,919.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 57,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,217,918.84. This trade represents a 12.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Kathryn L. Schoenrock sold 1,527 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.30, for a total value of $137,888.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,374 shares in the company, valued at $575,572.20. This trade represents a 19.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.63% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Graco Company 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.