KB Financial Partners LLC Makes New $712,000 Investment in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

KB Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 9,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $712,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC lifted its holdings in Graco by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 6,270 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $437,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in shares of Graco by 18.1% in the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 86,910 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,176,000 after buying an additional 13,302 shares in the last quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can lifted its holdings in shares of Graco by 8.3% in the first quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 96,025 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,879,000 after buying an additional 7,396 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its position in shares of Graco by 8.2% during the first quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 5,834 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $407,000 after acquiring an additional 440 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its stake in Graco by 74.3% during the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 9,636 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $684,000 after acquiring an additional 4,108 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on GGG. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Graco from $94.00 to $91.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 28th. StockNews.com upgraded Graco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 25th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Graco in a report on Monday, June 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Graco currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.00.

Graco Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE GGG opened at $75.43 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.81. Graco Inc. has a 12-month low of $58.17 and a 12-month high of $87.94. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $80.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $77.23.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 26th. The industrial products company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $559.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $576.14 million. Graco had a net margin of 23.10% and a return on equity of 25.52%. Graco’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.68 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 2.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 17th were given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 14th. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.97%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Mark W. Sheahan purchased 1,263 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 31st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $79.04 per share, with a total value of $99,827.52. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 62,986 shares in the company, valued at $4,978,413.44. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Caroline M. Chambers sold 7,060 shares of Graco stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.04, for a total transaction of $543,902.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 49,381 shares in the company, valued at $3,804,312.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark W. Sheahan bought 1,263 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 31st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $79.04 per share, with a total value of $99,827.52. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 62,986 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,978,413.44. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 2.98% of the company’s stock.

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 company's Industrial segment offers proportioning systems to spray polyurethane foam and polyurea coatings; equipment that pumps, meters, mixes and dispenses sealant, adhesive, and composite materials; and gel-coat equipment, chop and wet-out systems, resin transfer molding systems and applicators, and precision dispensing solutions.