Inspire Investing LLC Buys 165 Shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Inspire Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,322 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 165 shares during the quarter. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in Graco were worth $1,207,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of GGG. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Graco in the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Graco by 187.8% during the third 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 last quarter. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in Graco in the 3rd quarter worth about $59,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in Graco in the 3rd quarter valued at about $67,000. Finally, Huntington National Bank lifted its position in shares of Graco by 60.4% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 953 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $83,000 after buying an additional 359 shares in the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Graco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GGG opened at $85.95 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.51 billion, a PE ratio of 30.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.84. Graco Inc. has a one year low of $77.49 and a one year high of $94.77. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $86.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $84.47.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last issued its earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $538.19 million. Graco had a return on equity of 21.24% and a net margin of 22.87%. Graco’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.76 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Investors of record on Monday, January 20th will be issued a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. This is an increase from Graco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.28%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.87%.

Insider Activity at Graco

In other Graco news, insider Peter J. O’shea sold 18,075 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $1,604,337.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 14,516 shares in the company, valued at $1,288,440.16. This trade represents a 55.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,216 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.31, for a total value of $284,004.96. Following the sale, the insider now owns 27,246 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,406,094.26. This represents a 10.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 31,098 shares of company stock worth $2,776,150. Corporate insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GGG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $79.00 price objective on shares of Graco in a research note on Friday, September 27th. BNP Paribas upgraded Graco from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Graco from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. 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, the stock 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.