Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Grows Stock Position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 97.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 243,593 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 120,295 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned about 0.14% of Graco worth $21,317,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gradient Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Graco during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new position in Graco during the first quarter worth $43,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Graco by 187.8% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 495 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank bought a new position in Graco in the 3rd quarter valued at about $59,000. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada dropped 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. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a "neutral" rating and set a $79.00 price objective on shares of Graco in a report on Friday, September 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $89.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Graco

In other news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,216 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.31, for a total transaction of $284,004.96. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Peter J. O'shea sold 18,075 shares of Graco stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $1,604,337.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 14,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,288,440.16. The trade was a 55.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.63% of the company's stock.

Graco Stock Down 2.6 %

NYSE GGG opened at $87.82 on Wednesday. The company's 50 day moving average is $85.43 and its 200-day moving average is $82.59. The firm has a market cap of $14.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.82. Graco Inc. has a 12-month low of $77.49 and a 12-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 analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $538.19 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.76 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 2.91 EPS 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 $0.255 dividend. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 21st. Graco's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.04%.

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.