Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 7.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,590 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Graco were worth $314,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GGG. PineStone Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Graco by 134.4% during the second quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,169,176 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $330,532,000 after buying an additional 2,390,602 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Graco by 244.4% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,990,742 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $174,210,000 after purchasing an additional 1,412,704 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Graco during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,502,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in Graco by 54.2% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 814,321 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $64,502,000 after buying an additional 286,212 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Graco by 32.1% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,069,292 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $84,775,000 after acquiring an additional 259,819 shares during the period. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Graco Price Performance

NYSE:GGG opened at $88.54 on Thursday. Graco Inc. has a 1-year low of $77.49 and a 1-year high of $94.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.28, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.82. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $85.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $82.63.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $519.21 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $538.19 million. Graco had a net margin of 22.87% and a return on equity of 21.24%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.76 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 2.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 21st were given a dividend of $0.255 per share. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 21st. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.04%.

Insider Activity at Graco

In other news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,216 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.31, for a total transaction of $284,004.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 27,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,406,094.26. The trade was a 10.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Peter J. O’shea sold 18,075 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $1,604,337.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 14,516 shares in the company, valued at $1,288,440.16. This represents a 55.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.63% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on GGG shares. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $79.00 price target on shares of Graco in a report on Friday, September 27th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Graco from $96.00 to $93.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $89.25.

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.