SG Americas Securities LLC Purchases 3,653 Shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 71.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,785 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,653 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Graco were worth $740,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in Graco during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Graco by 187.8% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 495 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank bought a new position in shares of Graco during the third quarter valued at about $59,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of Graco during the third quarter valued at about $67,000. Finally, Huntington National Bank grew its stake in shares of Graco by 60.4% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 953 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 359 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Graco Trading Down 1.1 %

GGG stock opened at $82.47 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.93 billion, a PE ratio of 29.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.84. Graco Inc. has a 12-month low of $77.49 and a 12-month high of $94.77. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $86.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $84.65.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The industrial products company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.77 by ($0.13). Graco had a net margin of 22.87% and a return on equity of 21.24%. On average, research analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 20th will be paid a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. This is a positive change from Graco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Kathryn L. Schoenrock sold 1,527 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.30, for a total value of $137,888.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $575,572.20. This trade represents a 19.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Caroline M. Chambers sold 8,280 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 57,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,217,918.84. The trade was a 12.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 31,098 shares of company stock worth $2,776,150. Corporate 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.