Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Shares Purchased by Asset Management One Co. Ltd.

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 13.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 70,117 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 8,490 shares during the quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Graco were worth $5,855,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Graco by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,141,579 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,444,864,000 after acquiring an additional 183,335 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Graco by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,229,385 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $356,053,000 after purchasing an additional 77,093 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Graco during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $177,434,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Graco by 36.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,929,952 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $162,676,000 after buying an additional 518,462 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Graco by 26,738.4% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,841,916 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $155,255,000 after buying an additional 1,835,053 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.88% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wolfe Research started coverage on Graco in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $93.00.

Graco Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE GGG traded up $0.66 on Wednesday, hitting $88.33. 236,977 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 799,259. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $84.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $83.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.76 billion, a PE ratio of 31.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.06. Graco Inc. has a 1-year low of $72.06 and a 1-year high of $92.86.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.02. Graco had a return on equity of 19.42% and a net margin of 22.70%. The company had revenue of $528.28 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $526.98 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.65 earnings per share. Graco's quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. Graco's payout ratio is 38.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Graco

In other Graco news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,588 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.23, for a total value of $309,393.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 27,520 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,373,049.60. This represents a 11.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.19% of the company's stock.

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.