Bank of Montreal Can Has $19.34 Million Stock Position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 194.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 220,661 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 145,599 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can owned about 0.13% of Graco worth $19,339,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Gradient Investments LLC bought a new stake in Graco during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Graco by 187.8% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 495 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in Graco during the third quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Graco by 220.9% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 690 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in Graco in the third quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Graco Price Performance

Shares of Graco stock opened at $91.08 on Friday. Graco Inc. has a 1 year low of $77.49 and a 1 year high of $94.77. The company has a market capitalization of $15.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.82. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $86.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $83.00.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $519.21 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $538.19 million. Graco had a return on equity of 21.24% and a net margin of 22.87%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.76 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 21st were paid a dividend of $0.255 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 21st. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.12%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $575,572.20. This trade represents a 19.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Peter J. O’shea sold 18,075 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 14,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,288,440.16. This represents a 55.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 22,818 shares of company stock valued at $2,026,230. Insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GGG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $79.00 price objective on shares of Graco in a report on Friday, September 27th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Graco from $96.00 to $93.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $89.25.

Graco 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.