Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 726 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $61,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of GGG. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Graco by 244.4% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,990,742 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $174,210,000 after acquiring an additional 1,412,704 shares during the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of Graco by 359.2% during the fourth quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 640,474 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $53,986,000 after purchasing an additional 501,003 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Graco by 6.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,458,988 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $652,736,000 after purchasing an additional 443,141 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Graco by 142.9% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 652,048 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $57,061,000 after purchasing an additional 383,599 shares during the period. Finally, Sarasin & Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of Graco during the fourth quarter worth approximately $23,446,000. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on GGG shares. BNP Paribas raised shares of 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. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Graco from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $91.50.

Graco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GGG opened at $87.20 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $84.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $84.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.84. Graco Inc. has a 1 year low of $77.49 and a 1 year high of $94.77.

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

Graco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be given a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 14th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.26%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Graco

In other Graco news, EVP Kathryn L. Schoenrock sold 1,527 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $575,572.20. This trade represents a 19.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Caroline M. Chambers sold 8,280 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.57, for a total transaction of $749,919.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 57,612 shares in the company, valued at $5,217,918.84. This represents a 12.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company 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.