Fifth Third Bancorp Boosts Stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 21.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,834 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 319 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Graco were worth $153,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Graco by 118.0% in the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service purchased a new stake in Graco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Graco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Graco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, Sit Investment Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Graco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $80,000. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Graco news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,588 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.23, for a total transaction of $309,393.24. Following the sale, the insider now owns 27,520 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,373,049.60. This trade represents a 11.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Graco Price Performance

Shares of GGG stock opened at $84.59 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $14.14 billion, a PE ratio of 29.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.07. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $83.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $84.00. Graco Inc. has a 1 year low of $72.06 and a 1 year high of $92.86.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $528.28 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $526.98 million. Graco had a return on equity of 19.42% and a net margin of 22.70%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.65 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st will be paid a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wolfe Research started coverage on Graco in a research report on Wednesday. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $93.00.

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.