Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Shares Acquired by Buckhead Capital Management LLC

Buckhead Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 8.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,977 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 476 shares during the quarter. Buckhead Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Graco were worth $519,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Tobam lifted its holdings in Graco by 2,330.8% in the fourth quarter. Tobam now owns 316 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Graco in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in Graco in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Graco by 3,063.2% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 601 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 582 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Graco by 370.7% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 626 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 493 shares during the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Graco

In related news, VP Angela F. Wordell sold 3,588 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.60, for a total value of $335,836.80. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 12,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,191,060. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, VP Angela F. Wordell sold 3,588 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.60, for a total value of $335,836.80. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 12,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,191,060. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Timothy R. White sold 2,895 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.49, for a total value of $253,283.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 50,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,442,917.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 48,378 shares of company stock valued at $4,376,528 over the last quarter. 2.63% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on GGG. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Graco from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Graco in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Graco from $90.00 to $87.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com cut Graco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Graco from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Graco has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $88.25.

Graco Stock Performance

Shares of Graco stock traded up $0.12 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $80.32. 1,493,536 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 683,115. Graco Inc. has a 1 year low of $69.78 and a 1 year high of $94.77. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $90.75 and its 200 day moving average is $85.12. The firm has a market cap of $13.59 billion, a PE ratio of 27.69, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.81.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The industrial products company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.09). Graco had a return on equity of 23.01% and a net margin of 23.15%. The company had revenue of $492.19 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $536.19 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.74 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.255 per share. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.17%.

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.