Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. Purchases 11,529 Shares of Graco Inc. $GGG

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 17.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 75,870 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 11,529 shares during the quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.’s holdings in Graco were worth $6,219,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Graco during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. CX Institutional grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in shares of Graco by 42.6% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 465 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Graco by 982.6% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 498 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 452 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Graco by 116.9% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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 dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.07, for a total value of $1,146,330.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Angela F. Wordell sold 2,832 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.22, for a total value of $263,999.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 13,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,245,419.20. The trade was a 17.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 19,394 shares of company stock valued at $1,739,326. 2.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on GGG. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Graco from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Weiss Ratings raised Graco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Graco from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. 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, KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Graco in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $96.50.

Graco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GGG opened at $85.27 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $14.14 billion, a PE ratio of 27.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.09. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $89.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $85.44. Graco Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.91 and a fifty-two week high of $95.69.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last announced 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. Graco had a return on equity of 19.49% and a net margin of 23.33%.The firm had revenue of $593.16 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $591.99 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.64 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

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