Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Holdings Lifted by Bank of Montreal Can

Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 194.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 220,661 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 145,599 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can owned about 0.13% of Graco worth $19,339,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Gradient Investments LLC purchased a new position in Graco in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Graco by 187.8% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 495 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 323 shares during the period. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in Graco during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $59,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Graco by 220.9% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 690 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares during the period. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in Graco in the third quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.88% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Graco from $96.00 to $93.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a "neutral" rating and set a $79.00 target price on shares of Graco in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $89.25.

Graco Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE GGG traded up $0.52 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $91.08. 379,912 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 909,996. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.38 billion, a PE ratio of 32.18, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.82. Graco Inc. has a 12 month low of $77.49 and a 12 month high of $94.77. The company has a 50 day moving average of $86.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $83.00.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.05). The company 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%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.76 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.12%. Graco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.04%.

Insider Activity at Graco

In other Graco news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,216 shares of Graco stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.31, for a total value of $284,004.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 27,246 shares in the company, valued at $2,406,094.26. The trade was a 10.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Peter J. O'shea sold 18,075 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider now owns 14,516 shares in the company, valued at $1,288,440.16. The trade was a 55.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 22,818 shares of company stock valued at $2,026,230. Corporate insiders own 2.63% of the company's stock.

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.