123,101 Shares in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Acquired by Seilern Investment Management Ltd

Seilern Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 123,101 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $10,376,000. Graco makes up approximately 0.6% of Seilern Investment Management Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Seilern Investment Management Ltd owned about 0.07% of Graco as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GGG. Albert D Mason Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Graco by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. now owns 27,923 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,354,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its stake in Graco by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 4,222 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $369,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its position in Graco by 39.1% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 484 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Graco by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,602 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,453,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the period. Finally, Equitable Trust Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Graco by 2.3% in the third quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 6,664 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $583,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on GGG shares. Robert W. Baird cut their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Graco from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. BNP Paribas raised shares of Graco from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $105.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $79.00 price objective on shares of Graco in a report on Friday, September 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $91.50.

Graco Price Performance

Graco stock traded up $0.24 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $85.26. 582,362 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 591,196. Graco Inc. has a 12-month low of $77.49 and a 12-month high of $94.77. The company has a market capitalization of $14.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.13, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.84. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $86.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $84.36.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $538.19 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.76 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 20th will be issued a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. This is an increase from Graco's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.29%. Graco's payout ratio is 36.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Graco news, insider Peter J. O'shea sold 18,075 shares of Graco stock in a transaction on 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 owns 14,516 shares in the company, valued at $1,288,440.16. This trade represents a 55.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,216 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 31,098 shares of company stock valued at $2,776,150 in the last quarter. 2.63% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.