Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Shares Bought by UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 4.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,111,152 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 43,923 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned approximately 0.66% of Graco worth $97,237,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Gradient Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Graco during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Graco during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of Graco by 187.8% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 495 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in Graco during the third quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Graco by 220.9% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 690 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on GGG. DA Davidson reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $79.00 price target on shares of Graco in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Royal Bank of Canada cut 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $89.25.

Graco Stock Performance

Graco stock traded down $0.36 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $90.72. 649,553 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 749,508. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $86.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $83.00. Graco Inc. has a 52-week low of $77.49 and a 52-week high of $94.77. The company has a market cap of $15.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.18, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.82.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $519.21 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $538.19 million. Graco had a return on equity of 21.24% and a net margin of 22.87%. The company's revenue was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.76 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 21st were given a $0.255 dividend. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.12%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 21st. Graco's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.04%.

Insider Activity at Graco

In related news, EVP Kathryn L. Schoenrock sold 1,527 shares of the company'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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,374 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $575,572.20. This represents a 19.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,216 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 27,246 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 sold a total of 22,818 shares of company stock valued at $2,026,230 in the last three months. Company insiders own 2.63% of the company's stock.

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.