Paloma Partners Management Co Raises Position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Paloma Partners Management Co lifted its position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 59.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,843 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,810 shares during the period. Paloma Partners Management Co’s holdings in Graco were worth $424,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Graco by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 2,309 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $183,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Graco by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 4,222 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $369,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Graco by 7.1% during the 2nd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 2,031 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $161,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Graco by 8.8% during the 2nd quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,687 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $134,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Leavell Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Graco by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,602 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,453,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Graco Price Performance

Shares of Graco stock opened at $90.37 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $86.73 and a 200-day moving average of $83.11. The company has a market capitalization of $15.26 billion, a PE ratio of 31.93, a P/E/G 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $519.21 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $538.19 million. Graco had a net margin of 22.87% and a return on equity of 21.24%. The firm’s revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.76 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 21st were given a dividend of $0.255 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 21st. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.13%. Graco’s payout ratio is 36.04%.

Insider Transactions at Graco

In other news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,216 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.31, for a total transaction of $284,004.96. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 27,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,406,094.26. This trade represents a 10.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Peter J. O’shea sold 18,075 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 14,516 shares in the company, valued at $1,288,440.16. The trade was a 55.46 % 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. Insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on GGG. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $79.00 price target on shares of Graco in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Graco from $96.00 to $93.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.25.

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.