Spire Wealth Management Raises Stock Position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Spire Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 31.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 66,799 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 16,120 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management’s holdings in Graco were worth $5,678,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Graco by 4.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,085,518 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,245,193,000 after acquiring an additional 726,245 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Graco by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,575,804 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $114,845,000 after purchasing an additional 69,151 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Graco by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 994,086 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $72,449,000 after purchasing an additional 79,954 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Graco by 1.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 988,631 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $72,051,000 after buying an additional 13,980 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in Graco by 9.7% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 908,793 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $66,233,000 after buying an additional 80,631 shares during the period. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on GGG. StockNews.com cut shares of Graco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Graco in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Graco from $90.00 to $87.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Graco from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Graco currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $88.25.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Angela F. Wordell sold 3,588 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.60, for a total transaction of $335,836.80. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 12,725 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,191,060. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Graco news, insider Anthony J. Gargano sold 1,395 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.00, for a total transaction of $122,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 5,697 shares in the company, valued at $501,336. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Angela F. Wordell sold 3,588 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the vice president now owns 12,725 shares in the company, valued at $1,191,060. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 48,378 shares of company stock valued at $4,376,528. 2.63% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Graco Trading Up 0.8 %

GGG traded up $0.69 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $82.81. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 593,279 shares, compared to its average volume of 682,339. The stock has a market cap of $14.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.84. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $90.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $85.28. Graco Inc. has a 12 month low of $69.78 and a 12 month high of $94.77.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The industrial products company reported $0.65 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $492.19 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $536.19 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.74 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th were paid a $0.255 dividend. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 12th. Graco’s payout ratio is 35.17%.

About Graco

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.