Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Has $521,000 Position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC lifted its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 8.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,178 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in Graco were worth $521,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Graco in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Graco in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of Graco in the third quarter valued at about $59,000. MilWealth Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Graco during the fourth quarter worth about $63,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of Graco during the third quarter worth about $67,000. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Graco Stock Performance

Shares of GGG opened at $85.84 on Friday. Graco Inc. has a 52-week low of $77.49 and a 52-week high of $94.77. The firm has a market cap of $14.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.44, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.84. The business’s fifty day moving average is $84.88 and its 200-day moving average is $84.80.

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

Graco Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.28%. Graco’s payout ratio is presently 39.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on GGG shares. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Graco from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Graco presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $91.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Graco

In related news, insider Caroline M. Chambers sold 8,280 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.57, for a total value of $749,919.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 57,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,217,918.84. The trade was a 12.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathryn L. Schoenrock sold 1,527 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.30, for a total value of $137,888.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,374 shares in the company, valued at $575,572.20. The trade was a 19.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

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.