Everpar Advisors LLC Buys New Shares in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Everpar Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 3,893 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $338,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Graco by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 30,968 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,257,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Graco by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 208,284 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $15,180,000 after acquiring an additional 6,525 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in shares of Graco by 119.3% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 138,982 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,129,000 after acquiring an additional 75,594 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio lifted its position in shares of Graco by 13.2% in the 3rd quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 23,292 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,697,000 after acquiring an additional 2,723 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFM Investors Pty Ltd lifted its position in shares of Graco by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 42,489 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,097,000 after acquiring an additional 2,323 shares in the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Graco

In other news, insider Anthony J. Gargano sold 1,395 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.00, for a total transaction of $122,760.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $501,336. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Anthony J. Gargano sold 1,395 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.00, for a total value of $122,760.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $501,336. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Christian E. Rothe sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.04, for a total transaction of $1,350,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 25,583 shares in the company, valued at $2,303,493.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 45,483 shares of company stock worth $4,123,245 in the last 90 days. 2.63% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Graco Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of GGG traded down $0.50 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $83.02. 530,671 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 686,690. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $89.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $85.46. Graco Inc. has a twelve month low of $69.78 and a twelve month high of $94.77. The stock has a market cap of $14.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.84.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The industrial products company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.09). Graco had a return on equity of 23.01% and a net margin of 23.15%. The business had revenue of $492.19 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $536.19 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.74 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th were paid a dividend of $0.255 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 12th. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.23%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.