Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Raises Stock Position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 8.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 185,590 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,854 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC owned about 0.11% of Graco worth $15,643,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Albert D Mason Inc. lifted its position in Graco by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. now owns 27,923 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,354,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Graco by 3.1% in the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 4,222 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $369,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its holdings in shares of Graco by 39.1% in the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 484 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Graco by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,602 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,453,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Equitable Trust Co. raised its position in Graco by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 6,664 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $583,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Graco Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE GGG opened at $85.62 on Friday. Graco Inc. has a twelve month low of $77.49 and a twelve month high of $94.77. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $86.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $84.57. The firm has a market cap of $14.46 billion, a PE ratio of 30.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.84.

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

Graco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 20th will be given a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. This is a boost from Graco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.87%.

Insider Activity

In other Graco news, insider Peter J. O’shea sold 18,075 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $1,604,337.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 14,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,288,440.16. This trade represents a 55.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathryn L. Schoenrock sold 1,527 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.30, for a total value of $137,888.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $575,572.20. The trade was a 19.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 31,098 shares of company stock worth $2,776,150. Corporate insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on GGG shares. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Graco from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Graco from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $91.50.

Graco 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.