Natixis Advisors L.P. Grows Stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Natixis Advisors L.P. grew its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 161,100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,483 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P.’s holdings in Graco were worth $13,977,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in GGG. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake in Graco by 5.5% in the third quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 3,004 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $219,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Graco by 24.3% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 931 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. increased its holdings in Graco by 5.9% during the third quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 3,427 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $250,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the period. D.B. Root & Company LLC raised its stake in Graco by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC now owns 12,421 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,078,000 after buying an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Graco by 0.7% during the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 30,968 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,257,000 after buying an additional 215 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Graco Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE:GGG opened at $83.51 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $14.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.80, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.84. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $89.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $85.46. Graco Inc. has a 12 month low of $69.78 and a 12 month high of $94.77.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The industrial products company reported $0.65 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $492.19 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $536.19 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.74 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th were issued a $0.255 dividend. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 12th. Graco’s payout ratio is 35.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Angela F. Wordell sold 3,588 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.60, for a total value of $335,836.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 12,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,191,060. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, VP Angela F. Wordell sold 3,588 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.60, for a total value of $335,836.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 12,725 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,191,060. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Jody H. Feragen sold 5,036 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.29, for a total transaction of $464,772.44. Following the sale, the director now owns 44,903 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,144,097.87. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 45,483 shares of company stock valued at $4,123,245. Company insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Graco from $90.00 to $87.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Graco from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Graco in a report on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com lowered Graco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Graco from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Four research 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.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.