17,448 Shares in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Purchased by Ascent Group LLC

Ascent Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 17,448 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,527,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GGG. Gradient Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Graco in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Graco in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Graco by 187.8% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 495 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank bought a new position in shares of Graco in the 3rd quarter valued at about $59,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Graco by 220.9% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 690 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company's stock.

Graco Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE GGG traded down $0.64 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $90.37. 697,119 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 749,023. Graco Inc. has a one year low of $77.49 and a one year high of $94.77. The stock has a market cap of $15.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.12, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.83. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $86.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $83.11.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). Graco had a return on equity of 21.24% and a net margin of 22.87%. The business had revenue of $519.21 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $538.19 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.76 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st were issued a $0.255 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 21st. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.13%. Graco's payout ratio is 36.04%.

Insider Activity at Graco

In other news, 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 transaction of $284,004.96. Following the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Caroline M. Chambers sold 8,280 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.57, for a total transaction of $749,919.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 57,612 shares in the company, valued at $5,217,918.84. This represents a 12.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 31,098 shares of company stock worth $2,776,150 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.63% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on GGG. Robert W. Baird reduced 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. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Graco from $96.00 to $93.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a "neutral" rating and set a $79.00 price objective on shares of Graco in a research report on Friday, September 27th. 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.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $89.25.

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.