Cerity Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Cerity Partners LLC bought a new position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 3,902 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $339,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of GGG. DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its stake in shares of Graco by 3.9% during the third quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 8,595 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $626,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in Graco by 298.9% in the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 714 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 535 shares during the period. Simplicity Solutions LLC lifted its stake in Graco by 2.7% in the third quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 20,522 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,496,000 after acquiring an additional 547 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in Graco in the third quarter worth $1,992,000. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Graco by 19.4% in the third quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 68,477 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,991,000 after acquiring an additional 11,139 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GGG has been the subject 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 lowered Graco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Graco from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Graco in a report on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Graco from $90.00 to $87.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $85.60.

Graco Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of GGG stock opened at $82.56 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $13.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.81. The business’s 50 day moving average is $91.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.84. Graco Inc. has a 12-month low of $69.78 and a 12-month high of $94.77.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The industrial products company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.09). Graco had a net margin of 23.15% and a return on equity of 23.43%. The firm had revenue of $492.19 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $536.19 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.74 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.17%.

Insider Activity at Graco

In related news, insider Christian E. Rothe sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.04, for a total value of $1,350,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 25,583 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,303,493.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Graco news, VP Angela F. Wordell sold 3,588 shares of the company’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 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 available through the SEC website. Also, insider Christian E. Rothe sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.04, for a total value of $1,350,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 25,583 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,303,493.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 48,378 shares of company stock worth $4,376,528. 2.63% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.