Caprock Group LLC Takes $724,000 Position in Graco Inc. $GGG

Caprock Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 8,473 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $724,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in Graco in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in Graco by 320.7% in the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 345 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares during the last quarter. CX Institutional lifted its stake in shares of Graco by 316.7% in the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 475 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Graco by 982.6% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 498 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 452 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its position in Graco by 116.9% during the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 514 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Graco

In other news, Director J Kevin Gilligan sold 12,870 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.07, for a total transaction of $1,146,330.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Angela F. Wordell sold 2,832 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.22, for a total transaction of $263,999.04. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 13,360 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,245,419.20. This represents a 17.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 19,394 shares of company stock worth $1,739,326. Insiders own 2.19% of the company’s stock.

Graco Price Performance

NYSE:GGG opened at $94.61 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $86.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $84.48. Graco Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $72.06 and a fifty-two week high of $95.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.69 billion, a PE ratio of 30.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.08.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 26th. The industrial products company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.77. The company had revenue of $593.16 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $591.99 million. Graco had a net margin of 23.33% and a return on equity of 19.49%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.64 earnings per share. On average, 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 stock repurchase plan on Friday, December 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase 15,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 13th. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on GGG. Robert W. Baird set a $96.00 price target on Graco in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Graco in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Graco from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Graco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Graco in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.50.

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.