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

Bridges Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 12.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor 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 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GGG. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of Graco by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 14,548 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,226,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the period. Values First Advisors Inc. increased its position in Graco by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. now owns 23,084 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,927,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Graco by 118.0% during the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 351 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Carlson Capital Management raised its stake in shares of Graco by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Carlson Capital Management now owns 26,699 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,250,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Optas LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Graco by 6.0% during the first quarter. Optas LLC now owns 3,560 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,588 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.23, for a total value of $309,393.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 2.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Graco Price Performance

Shares of Graco stock traded up $0.39 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $88.55. 399,856 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 801,098. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $85.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $83.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.29, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.06. Graco Inc. has a 12-month low of $72.06 and a 12-month high of $92.86.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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. Graco had a return on equity of 19.42% and a net margin of 22.70%. The business had revenue of $528.28 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $526.98 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.65 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st will be given a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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.