Simplicity Solutions LLC Grows Position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Simplicity Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 21,038 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 516 shares during the quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC’s holdings in Graco were worth $1,825,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GGG. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Graco by 102,901.6% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,793,696 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $322,424,000 after buying an additional 4,789,042 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of Graco by 156.6% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,453,162 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $299,520,000 after acquiring an additional 2,718,018 shares during the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Graco by 251.2% during the third quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,619,979 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $190,944,000 after acquiring an additional 1,873,902 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Graco during the fourth quarter valued at $116,116,000. Finally, BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in Graco by 10.0% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 16,868,602 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,231,577,000 after buying an additional 1,538,176 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Graco Price Performance

Graco stock opened at $89.47 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $91.05 and its 200-day moving average is $84.06. The company has a market cap of $15.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.81. Graco Inc. has a 12 month low of $68.78 and a 12 month high of $94.77.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $566.64 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $565.86 million. Graco had a return on equity of 24.61% and a net margin of 23.07%. Research analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 3.14 EPS for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a $0.255 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.14%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.69%.

Insider Transactions at Graco

In related news, VP Angela F. Wordell sold 3,588 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.60, for a total transaction of $335,836.80. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 12,725 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,191,060. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Graco news, insider Timothy R. White sold 2,500 shares of Graco stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.82, for a total transaction of $232,050.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 48,282 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,481,535.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Angela F. Wordell sold 3,588 shares of Graco stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.60, for a total value of $335,836.80. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 12,725 shares in the company, valued at $1,191,060. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 48,378 shares of company stock worth $4,376,528 in the last three months. 2.63% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GGG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Graco from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. StockNews.com raised Graco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Graco from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.80.

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.