Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Stock Position Raised by Victory Capital Management Inc.

Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 2.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 142,918 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 3,608 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Graco were worth $12,507,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Graco by 28.6% during the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 59,245 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,185,000 after buying an additional 13,168 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Graco by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 328,306 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,730,000 after buying an additional 8,485 shares during the last quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Graco by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 124,131 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,863,000 after buying an additional 6,169 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Graco by 498.2% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,687 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $148,000 after buying an additional 1,405 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its position in shares of Graco by 17.6% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,454 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $215,000 after buying an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Graco Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE GGG opened at $88.54 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $85.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $82.63. The stock has a market cap of $14.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.82. Graco Inc. has a 52 week low of $77.49 and a 52 week high of $94.77.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $519.21 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $538.19 million. Graco had a return on equity of 21.24% and a net margin of 22.87%. The company’s revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.76 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 2.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 21st were paid a $0.255 dividend. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 21st. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on GGG shares. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Graco from $96.00 to $93.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $79.00 target price on shares of Graco in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.25.

Insider Transactions at Graco

In other news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,216 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.31, for a total value of $284,004.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 27,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,406,094.26. This represents a 10.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Peter J. O’shea sold 18,075 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $1,604,337.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 14,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,288,440.16. This represents a 55.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

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.