Graco Inc. $GGG Shares Purchased by Schroder Investment Management Group

Schroder Investment Management Group grew its holdings in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 877.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 334,947 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 300,682 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group owned 0.20% of Graco worth $28,300,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Graco during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. CX Institutional grew its holdings in shares of Graco by 316.7% during the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 475 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Graco by 42.6% during the third 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. boosted its position in Graco by 982.6% during 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 period. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its stake in 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 during the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Graco Price Performance

Shares of GGG opened at $86.96 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $89.57 and its 200-day moving average is $85.37. Graco Inc. has a 12-month low of $72.06 and a 12-month high of $95.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.07.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 26th. The industrial products company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.77. The business had revenue of $593.16 million during 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 company’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.64 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

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

Graco declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Friday, December 5th that allows the company to buyback 15,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Angela F. Wordell sold 2,832 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 13,360 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,245,419.20. This represents a 17.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director J Kevin Gilligan sold 12,870 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.07, for a total transaction of $1,146,330.90. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 19,394 shares of company stock worth $1,739,326 over the last three months. 2.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Graco Company 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.