Optas LLC Has $297,000 Stock Holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Optas LLC boosted its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 6.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,560 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the quarter. Optas LLC’s holdings in Graco were worth $297,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GGG. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in shares of Graco by 32.0% during the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,545,846 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $130,298,000 after buying an additional 374,967 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Graco by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,054,966 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $88,923,000 after acquiring an additional 19,545 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. raised its stake in Graco by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 184,103 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $15,518,000 after acquiring an additional 6,041 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Graco by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,141,579 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,444,864,000 after acquiring an additional 183,335 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Graco in the fourth quarter worth about $3,138,000. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,588 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.23, for a total transaction of $309,393.24. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.19% of the company’s stock.

Graco Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of Graco stock opened at $83.48 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $82.56 and its 200 day moving average is $84.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.95 billion, a PE ratio of 29.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.07. Graco Inc. has a 1 year low of $72.06 and a 1 year high of $92.86.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 net margin of 23.00% and a return on equity of 19.38%. The company’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.65 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.32%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.87%.

Graco Company Profile

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.