Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Holdings Lifted by Quest Partners LLC

Quest Partners LLC raised its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 7,337.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 29,826 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 29,425 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC's holdings in Graco were worth $2,610,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of GGG. Swiss National Bank grew its stake in Graco by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 502,000 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $43,930,000 after purchasing an additional 3,200 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in shares of Graco by 97.6% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 243,593 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $21,317,000 after buying an additional 120,295 shares during the last quarter. Claro Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Graco by 1.8% during the third quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 9,071 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $794,000 after buying an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. RIA Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Graco in the third quarter worth $278,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Graco by 254.8% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 195,533 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $17,111,000 after acquiring an additional 140,417 shares in the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $79.00 price target on shares of Graco in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Graco from $96.00 to $93.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $89.25.

Graco Stock Performance

Shares of Graco stock traded up $0.59 on Monday, reaching $90.22. 1,627,897 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 746,671. The firm has a market cap of $15.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.82. Graco Inc. has a 1-year low of $77.49 and a 1-year high of $94.77. The company's 50-day moving average is $85.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.55.

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 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 company had revenue of $519.21 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $538.19 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.76 earnings per share. Graco's quarterly revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 2.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Graco news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,216 shares of the firm'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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,406,094.26. This trade represents a 10.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Peter J. O'shea sold 18,075 shares of the company'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 transaction of $1,604,337.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 14,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,288,440.16. This represents a 55.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.63% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.