Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Shares Acquired by Apollon Wealth Management LLC

Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGGFree Report) by 7.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 12,279 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 878 shares during the quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Graco were worth $1,035,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Graco by 244.4% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,990,742 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $174,210,000 after acquiring an additional 1,412,704 shares in the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP raised its holdings in Graco by 359.2% in the fourth quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 640,474 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $53,986,000 after acquiring an additional 501,003 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Graco by 6.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,458,988 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $652,736,000 after acquiring an additional 443,141 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its holdings in Graco by 142.9% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 652,048 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $57,061,000 after acquiring an additional 383,599 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sarasin & Partners LLP acquired a new stake in Graco in the fourth quarter valued at $23,446,000. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Get Our Latest Analysis on GGG

Graco Stock Performance

Graco stock opened at $85.79 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $85.12 and its 200-day moving average is $84.77. Graco Inc. has a 1 year low of $77.49 and a 1 year high of $94.77. The company has a market cap of $14.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.42, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.84.

Graco (NYSE:GGGGet Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 19.38% and a net margin of 23.00%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Investors of record on Monday, January 20th were given a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. This is an increase from Graco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.28%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.01%.

Insider Activity at Graco

In related news, insider Caroline M. Chambers sold 8,280 shares of Graco stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.57, for a total value of $749,919.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 57,612 shares in the company, valued at $5,217,918.84. This trade represents a 12.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathryn L. Schoenrock sold 1,527 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.30, for a total transaction of $137,888.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $575,572.20. The trade was a 19.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 27,882 shares of company stock worth $2,492,145 in the last ninety days. 2.63% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Graco Profile

(Free Report)

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.

Recommended Stories

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding GGG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGGFree Report).

Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Graco (NYSE:GGG)

Receive News & Ratings for Graco Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Graco and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.