Toroso Investments LLC Grows Position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Toroso Investments LLC increased its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG – Get Rating) by 5.8% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 27,690 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,519 shares during the quarter. Toroso Investments LLC’s holdings in Graco were worth $1,660,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Taylor Hoffman Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Graco by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Taylor Hoffman Wealth Management now owns 39,207 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,350,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the period. FourThought Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Graco by 19.5% in the 3rd quarter. FourThought Financial LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC raised its stake in Graco by 3.0% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 6,270 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $437,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Graco by 3.2% during the first quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,076 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $563,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cresset Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Graco by 2.1% during the first quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 9,444 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $659,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.85% of the company’s stock.

Graco Stock Down 1.2 %

GGG stock opened at $67.25 on Friday. Graco Inc. has a 1-year low of $56.48 and a 1-year high of $72.87. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $69.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $67.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 3.01 and a quick ratio of 1.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.78.

Graco (NYSE:GGG – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 31st. The industrial products company reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.04. Graco had a return on equity of 25.67% and a net margin of 21.49%. The firm had revenue of $555.05 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $556.72 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.66 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 17th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 14th. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.21%.

Insider Transactions at Graco

In related news, CFO David M. Lowe sold 31,128 shares of Graco stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.17, for a total value of $2,184,251.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 601,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,226,200.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO David M. Lowe sold 31,128 shares of Graco stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.17, for a total value of $2,184,251.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 601,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,226,200.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Eric Etchart sold 6,000 shares of Graco stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.90, for a total value of $431,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 31,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,271,824.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 57,948 shares of company stock worth $4,096,787 over the last quarter. 3.52% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut Graco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Graco from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Graco from $66.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Graco has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $73.00.

Graco Profile

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Graco, Inc is a manufacturing company, which engages in the design, manufacture, and sale of systems and equipment used to move, measure, control, dispense, and spray fluid and powder materials. It operates through the following segments: Industrial, Process, and Contractor. The Industrial segment markets equipment and pre-engineered packages for moving and applying paints, coatings, sealants, adhesives, and other fluids.