Holocene Advisors LP Increases Stock Position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Holocene Advisors LP boosted its stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 65.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 103,213 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 40,999 shares during the quarter. Holocene Advisors LP owned approximately 0.06% of Graco worth $9,032,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gradient Investments LLC purchased a new position in Graco in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Graco in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in Graco by 187.8% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank purchased a new position in Graco in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $59,000. 93.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,216 shares of Graco stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.31, for a total transaction of $284,004.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 27,246 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,406,094.26. The trade was a 10.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Caroline M. Chambers sold 8,280 shares of Graco stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.57, for a total transaction of $749,919.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 57,612 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,217,918.84. This trade represents a 12.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 31,098 shares of company stock worth $2,776,150 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.63% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Graco from $96.00 to $93.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. DA Davidson reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $79.00 target price on shares of Graco in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Graco currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $89.25.

Graco Stock Performance

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

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 net margin of 22.87% and a return on equity of 21.24%. The company had revenue of $519.21 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $538.19 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.76 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st were paid a $0.255 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 21st. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.13%. Graco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.04%.

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.