Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Shares Bought by Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 12.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,747 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 412 shares during the quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Graco were worth $314,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Graco in the third quarter worth $30,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in shares of Graco during the 3rd quarter worth $59,000. MilWealth Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Graco in the 4th quarter valued at about $63,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Graco in the third quarter valued at about $67,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Graco by 93.1% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 956 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $81,000 after buying an additional 461 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Graco Stock Performance

GGG stock opened at $86.16 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $84.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $84.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.55, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.84. Graco Inc. has a one year low of $77.49 and a one year high of $94.77.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The industrial products company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.77 by ($0.13). Graco had a return on equity of 19.38% and a net margin of 23.00%. Research analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Investors of record on Monday, January 20th were issued a dividend of $0.275 per share. This is an increase from Graco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Kathryn L. Schoenrock sold 1,527 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.30, for a total transaction of $137,888.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $575,572.20. This trade represents a 19.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Caroline M. Chambers sold 8,280 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.57, for a total transaction of $749,919.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 57,612 shares in the company, valued at $5,217,918.84. The trade was a 12.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.63% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on GGG. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Graco from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of Graco from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $91.50.

About Graco

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.