Park Avenue Securities LLC Makes New $254,000 Investment in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Park Avenue Securities LLC bought a new stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 3,016 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $254,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of GGG. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Graco by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 199,229 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $16,793,000 after purchasing an additional 8,352 shares in the last quarter. PFW Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Graco during the fourth quarter worth approximately $247,000. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Graco by 49.9% in the 4th quarter. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,546 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $299,000 after purchasing an additional 1,181 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Graco by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 15,245 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,290,000 after buying an additional 414 shares during the period. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Graco in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $303,000. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Graco

In other Graco news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,216 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.31, for a total value of $284,004.96. Following the sale, the insider now owns 27,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,406,094.26. This trade represents a 10.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Caroline M. Chambers sold 8,280 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.57, for a total value of $749,919.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 57,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,217,918.84. This trade represents a 12.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 31,098 shares of company stock valued at $2,776,150. 2.63% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Graco Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:GGG opened at $85.62 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $14.46 billion, a PE ratio of 30.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.84. The business has a 50 day moving average of $86.55 and a 200-day moving average of $84.57. Graco Inc. has a 12-month low of $77.49 and a 12-month high of $94.77.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.05). Graco had a return on equity of 21.24% and a net margin of 22.87%. The business had revenue of $519.21 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $538.19 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.76 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 20th will be given a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.28%. This is an increase from Graco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Graco from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Graco from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Graco currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $91.50.

Graco 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.