Larson Financial Group LLC Purchases 649 Shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 103.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,275 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 649 shares during the quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Graco were worth $111,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of Graco by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 39,111 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,393,000 after purchasing an additional 4,611 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its position in Graco by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 27,290 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,368,000 after acquiring an additional 1,900 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its position in Graco by 24.3% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 931 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust purchased a new position in Graco in the fourth quarter worth about $236,000. Finally, RIA Advisory Group LLC grew its position in Graco by 547.2% in the fourth quarter. RIA Advisory Group LLC now owns 21,676 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,881,000 after acquiring an additional 18,327 shares in the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on GGG. StockNews.com upgraded Graco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Graco from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Graco from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.80.

Insider Activity at Graco

In related news, VP Angela F. Wordell sold 3,588 shares of the business’s 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Timothy R. White sold 2,895 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.49, for a total value of $253,283.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 50,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,442,917.18. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Angela F. Wordell sold 3,588 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 12,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,191,060. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 48,378 shares of company stock worth $4,376,528. Company insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Graco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GGG opened at $83.12 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.66, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.81. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $91.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $84.85. Graco Inc. has a 52-week low of $68.78 and a 52-week high of $94.77.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The industrial products company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $492.19 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $536.19 million. Graco had a net margin of 23.15% and a return on equity of 23.43%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.74 EPS. Analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 3.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a $0.255 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.23%. Graco’s payout ratio is 35.17%.

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.