Graco Inc. $GGG Shares Acquired by Tudor Investment Corp ET AL

Tudor Investment Corp ET AL raised its position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 227.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,395 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 12,090 shares during the quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL’s holdings in Graco were worth $1,478,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of GGG. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Graco during the second quarter valued at $170,661,000. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec lifted its position in shares of Graco by 236.4% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec now owns 1,279,553 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $108,711,000 after buying an additional 899,174 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Graco by 116.8% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 735,146 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $63,201,000 after buying an additional 396,125 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its holdings in shares of Graco by 877.5% in the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 334,947 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,300,000 after buying an additional 300,682 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its position in shares of Graco by 94.6% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 508,176 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $43,688,000 after buying an additional 246,984 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Kathryn L. Schoenrock sold 2,223 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.06, for a total transaction of $195,757.38. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 7,846 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $690,918.76. This trade represents a 22.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director J Kevin Gilligan sold 12,870 shares of Graco stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.07, for a total transaction of $1,146,330.90. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 19,394 shares of company stock worth $1,739,326 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GGG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Graco from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Graco in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Robert W. Baird set a $96.00 price target on Graco in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Graco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Graco in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.50.

Graco Stock Up 0.1%

Graco stock opened at $83.82 on Monday. Graco Inc. has a 52-week low of $72.06 and a 52-week high of $95.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.12, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $89.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $85.33.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The industrial products company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.77. The company had revenue of $593.16 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $591.99 million. Graco had a net margin of 23.33% and a return on equity of 19.49%. Graco’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.64 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Friday, December 5th that authorizes the company to buyback 15,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Investors of record on Monday, April 13th will be given a $0.295 dividend. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 13th. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.19%.

About Graco

Graco Inc is a leading manufacturer of fluid handling systems and components, headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded in 1926, the company has built a reputation for innovation in spray finishing, lubrication, and fluid management technologies. Graco’s solutions are designed to address the needs of paint and coatings applicators, general industry, and process fluids in a variety of end markets.

The company’s product portfolio includes airless and air-assisted spray equipment, pumps for oil and gas applications, industrial lubrication systems, and automated dispensing equipment.