Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Shares Purchased by Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its stake in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG – Get Rating) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,866 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 336 shares during the quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in Graco were worth $596,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Taylor Hoffman Wealth Management grew its stake in Graco by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Taylor Hoffman Wealth Management now owns 39,207 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,350,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. FourThought Financial LLC raised its holdings in Graco by 19.5% during the third quarter. FourThought Financial LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $437,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC increased its position 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 worth $563,000 after buying an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cresset Asset Management LLC increased its position 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 worth $659,000 after buying an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.85% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Graco

In related news, insider Jeffrey P. Johnson sold 4,830 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.54, for a total value of $379,348.20. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 30,835 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,421,780.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director J Kevin Gilligan sold 16,320 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.88, for a total value of $1,303,641.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 17,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,394,864.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jeffrey P. Johnson sold 4,830 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.54, for a total value of $379,348.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 30,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,421,780.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 42,943 shares of company stock worth $3,433,404 in the last three months. 2.98% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on GGG shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Graco from $82.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Friday, April 28th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Graco in a research report on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Seaport Res Ptn raised Graco from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 2nd. DA Davidson upped their target price on Graco from $70.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Graco from $75.00 to $83.00 in a research report on Friday, April 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Graco presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $79.25.

Graco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GGG opened at $78.05 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $13.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.48, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.80. Graco Inc. has a 1-year low of $56.48 and a 1-year high of $80.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 3.38 and a quick ratio of 2.07. The business has a 50-day moving average of $72.73 and a 200-day moving average of $70.33.

Graco (NYSE:GGG – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 26th. The industrial products company reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $529.65 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $501.87 million. Graco had a return on equity of 26.12% and a net margin of 22.44%. Graco’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.57 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.