Port Capital LLC Grows Stock Position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Port Capital LLC boosted its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 0.3% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 783,483 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 2,125 shares during the period. Graco makes up approximately 3.1% of Port Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Port Capital LLC’s holdings in Graco were worth $68,563,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gradient Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Graco during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Graco during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Graco by 187.8% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 495 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Graco by 220.9% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 690 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Graco in the third quarter valued at about $59,000. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Graco

In related news, insider Caroline M. Chambers sold 8,280 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $5,217,918.84. The trade was a 12.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathryn L. Schoenrock sold 1,527 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.30, for a total transaction of $137,888.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $575,572.20. This represents a 19.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 31,098 shares of company stock valued at $2,776,150. Company insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GGG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Graco from $96.00 to $93.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $79.00 target price on shares of Graco in a report on Friday, September 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Graco presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $89.25.

Graco Stock Performance

GGG stock opened at $91.02 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $86.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $83.11. The firm has a market cap of $15.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.16, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.83. Graco Inc. has a 1 year low of $77.49 and a 1 year high of $94.77.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.05). Graco had a net margin of 22.87% and a return on equity of 21.24%. The company had revenue of $519.21 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $538.19 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.76 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 21st were issued a dividend of $0.255 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 21st. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.12%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.04%.

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.