Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC Acquires 21,315 Shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC raised its stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 69.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 51,961 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 21,315 shares during the quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC's holdings in Graco were worth $4,547,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cinctive Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Graco in the third quarter valued at about $886,000. Ascent Group LLC acquired a new stake in Graco in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,527,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its stake in Graco by 5,832.2% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 84,830 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $7,424,000 after acquiring an additional 83,400 shares in the last quarter. Atom Investors LP acquired a new position in Graco during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $6,932,000. Finally, Paloma Partners Management Co grew its stake in shares of Graco by 59.7% during the 3rd quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 4,843 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $424,000 after acquiring an additional 1,810 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company's stock.

Graco Price Performance

GGG stock traded up $0.41 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $89.51. The stock had a trading volume of 631,895 shares, compared to its average volume of 891,875. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $86.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $83.24. Graco Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $77.49 and a fifty-two week high of $94.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.11 billion, a PE ratio of 31.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.83.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $519.21 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $538.19 million. Graco had a net margin of 22.87% and a return on equity of 21.24%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.76 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Investors of record on Monday, January 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.275 per share. This is a positive change from Graco's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.23%. Graco's payout ratio is presently 36.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on GGG. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective 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. DA Davidson reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $79.00 price target on shares of Graco in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $89.25.

Insider Activity at Graco

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