Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Stock Position Raised by Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc.

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 142.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 652,048 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 383,599 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned 0.39% of Graco worth $57,061,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Holocene Advisors LP increased its position in Graco by 65.9% during the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 103,213 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $9,032,000 after purchasing an additional 40,999 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Graco by 69.6% in the 3rd quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 51,961 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,547,000 after buying an additional 21,315 shares during the last quarter. Cinctive Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Graco in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $886,000. Ascent Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Graco in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,527,000. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its position in shares of Graco by 5,832.2% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 84,830 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $7,424,000 after buying an additional 83,400 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.88% of the company's stock.

Graco Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE GGG traded down $0.64 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $90.37. 697,119 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 749,023. Graco Inc. has a 1-year low of $77.49 and a 1-year high of $94.77. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $86.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $83.11. The firm has a market cap of $15.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.83.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $519.21 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $538.19 million. Graco had a net margin of 22.87% and a return on equity of 21.24%. The company's quarterly revenue 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. Analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Peter J. O'shea sold 18,075 shares of the business's 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 14,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,288,440.16. The trade was a 55.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathryn L. Schoenrock sold 1,527 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.30, for a total value of $137,888.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,374 shares in the company, valued at $575,572.20. This trade represents a 19.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 31,098 shares of company stock valued at $2,776,150 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.63% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on GGG. DA Davidson restated a "neutral" rating and set a $79.00 price objective on shares of Graco in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, 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 report on Friday, October 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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.