Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Shares Bought by Natixis Advisors LLC

Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 254.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 195,533 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 140,417 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.12% of Graco worth $17,111,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Gradient Investments LLC acquired a new position in Graco in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Graco during the 1st quarter worth approximately $43,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of Graco by 187.8% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Graco by 220.9% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 690 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in Graco during the 3rd quarter worth $59,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Graco Stock Down 2.6 %

NYSE GGG opened at $87.82 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $14.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.03, a P/E/G 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. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $85.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $82.59.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.05). Graco had a net margin of 22.87% and a return on equity of 21.24%. The company had revenue of $519.21 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $538.19 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.76 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 2.91 earnings per share for the current 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 $0.255 dividend. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 21st. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GGG has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Graco from $96.00 to $93.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $79.00 price objective on shares of Graco in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.25.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Peter J. O’shea sold 18,075 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $1,604,337.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 14,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,288,440.16. This represents a 55.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,216 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 trade represents a 10.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.