Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Has $60.84 Million Holdings in Graco Inc. $GGG

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lessened its holdings in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 716,095 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 7,467 shares during the quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL owned approximately 0.43% of Graco worth $60,839,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Graco by 432.6% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 85,654 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,263,000 after purchasing an additional 69,573 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its position in Graco by 154.2% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 64,341 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,466,000 after buying an additional 39,031 shares in the last quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG boosted its stake in shares of Graco by 191.8% during the 3rd quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 8,809 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $744,000 after buying an additional 5,790 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Graco by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,458,857 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $208,908,000 after acquiring an additional 75,285 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Addenda Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Graco during the 3rd quarter valued at $4,837,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on GGG shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Graco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Graco from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Graco from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Graco in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Graco in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Graco presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $96.50.

Graco Trading Down 2.9%

Shares of NYSE:GGG opened at $88.61 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.65 billion, a PE ratio of 28.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.07. Graco Inc. has a 1 year low of $72.06 and a 1 year high of $95.69. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $89.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $85.31.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last posted its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The industrial products company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting 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 business’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.64 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Investors of record on Monday, April 13th will be issued a $0.295 dividend. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 13th. Graco’s payout ratio is 38.19%.

Graco declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Friday, December 5th that permits the company to buyback 15,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.