Bridges Investment Management Inc. Boosts Stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Bridges Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 12.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 138,824 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 14,859 shares during the period. Bridges Investment Management Inc. owned 0.08% of Graco worth $11,593,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Graco by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,141,579 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,444,864,000 after acquiring an additional 183,335 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Graco by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,229,385 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $356,053,000 after purchasing an additional 77,093 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Graco by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,390,940 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $199,667,000 after purchasing an additional 62,761 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Graco during the 4th quarter valued at $177,434,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Graco by 36.7% in the 4th 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.88% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Graco Price Performance

Shares of Graco stock traded up $0.92 during trading on Thursday, reaching $89.37. 264,285 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 799,010. Graco Inc. has a 52-week low of $72.06 and a 52-week high of $92.86. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $85.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $83.88. The company has a market capitalization of $14.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.06.

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

Graco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. Graco's dividend payout ratio is currently 38.87%.

Insider Transactions at Graco

In other Graco news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,588 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 owned 27,520 shares in the company, valued at $2,373,049.60. This trade represents a 11.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.