Aurora Private Wealth Inc. Invests $993,000 in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Aurora Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 11,890 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $993,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Graco by 118.0% in the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 351 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service acquired a new stake in Graco in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Graco in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Graco during the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, Sit Investment Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Graco during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $80,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.88% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Graco news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,588 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.23, for a total value of $309,393.24. Following the sale, the insider now owns 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 2.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Graco in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Graco presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $93.00.

Graco Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of Graco stock traded up $1.01 on Thursday, reaching $86.30. 480,596 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 807,403. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $83.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $83.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.49, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.07. Graco Inc. has a twelve month low of $72.06 and a twelve month high of $92.86.

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

Graco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be issued a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. Graco's payout ratio is 38.87%.

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.