Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd Increases Stake in Graco Inc. $GGG

Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 40.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 45,544 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 13,130 shares during the quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Graco were worth $3,869,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GGG. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Graco in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. CX Institutional grew its holdings in Graco by 316.7% during the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 475 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of Graco by 42.6% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 465 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Graco by 982.6% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 498 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 452 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Graco by 116.9% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 514 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Graco Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE GGG opened at $83.96 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $89.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $85.35. The stock has a market cap of $13.92 billion, a PE ratio of 27.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.07. Graco Inc. has a 52-week low of $72.06 and a 52-week high of $95.69.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The industrial products company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, hitting 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 return on equity of 19.49% and a net margin of 23.33%.The firm’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.64 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

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

Graco declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Friday, December 5th that permits the company to repurchase 15,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Graco news, EVP Angela F. Wordell sold 2,832 shares of Graco stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.22, for a total value of $263,999.04. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 13,360 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,245,419.20. This trade represents a 17.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Timothy R. White sold 1,469 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.70, for a total value of $133,238.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 51,430 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,664,701. The trade was a 2.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 19,394 shares of company stock worth $1,739,326. Corporate insiders own 2.19% of the company’s stock.

Graco Profile

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.