Merit Financial Group LLC Buys Shares of 7,068 Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 7,068 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $590,000.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Graco in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Graco by 118.0% in the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. National Pension Service bought a new stake in Graco in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Graco in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Graco in the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Graco

In related news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,588 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.23, for a total transaction of $309,393.24. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 27,520 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,373,049.60. This represents a 11.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.19% of the company’s stock.

Graco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GGG opened at $85.03 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.21 billion, a PE ratio of 30.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.07. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $81.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $84.26. Graco Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $72.06 and a fifty-two week high of $92.86.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.02. Graco had a return on equity of 19.38% and a net margin of 23.00%. The company had revenue of $528.28 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $526.98 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.65 EPS. Graco’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be given a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.29%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.87%.

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.