Trueblood Wealth Management LLC Invests $321,000 in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Trueblood Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 3,705 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $321,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GGG. BlackRock Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Graco by 10.3% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 18,608,060 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,606,806,000 after purchasing an additional 1,739,458 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Graco by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,085,518 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,245,193,000 after purchasing an additional 726,245 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Graco by 13.0% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,619,918 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $556,330,000 after acquiring an additional 878,009 shares during the period. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Graco by 102,901.6% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,793,696 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $322,424,000 after buying an additional 4,789,042 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in Graco by 156.6% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,453,162 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $299,520,000 after buying an additional 2,718,018 shares in the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on GGG. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Graco from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Graco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Graco from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Graco currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.80.

Graco Stock Down 0.8 %

NYSE:GGG traded down $0.71 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $93.46. 577,156 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 670,871. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $89.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.87, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.81. Graco Inc. has a 52 week low of $68.76 and a 52 week high of $94.77.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.01. Graco had a return on equity of 24.61% and a net margin of 23.07%. The firm had revenue of $566.64 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $565.86 million. As a group, research analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.14 EPS for the current year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be given a $0.255 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.09%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.69%.

Insider Transactions at Graco

In related news, VP Angela F. Wordell sold 3,588 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.60, for a total transaction of $335,836.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 12,725 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,191,060. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Graco news, insider Anthony J. Gargano sold 1,395 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.00, for a total value of $122,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $501,336. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Angela F. Wordell sold 3,588 shares of Graco stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.60, for a total value of $335,836.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 12,725 shares in the company, valued at $1,191,060. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 61,262 shares of company stock valued at $5,450,667 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

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.