Fenimore Asset Management Inc Acquires 4,578 Shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Fenimore Asset Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 0.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,090,796 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,578 shares during the period. Graco accounts for approximately 1.9% of Fenimore Asset Management Inc's portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Fenimore Asset Management Inc owned 0.65% of Graco worth $91,092,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GGG. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted 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 valued at $1,444,864,000 after purchasing an additional 183,335 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position 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 buying an additional 77,093 shares in the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Graco by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,904,681 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $244,836,000 after buying an additional 76,184 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Graco by 17.0% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,328,179 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $196,242,000 after buying an additional 337,437 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Graco during the fourth quarter worth about $177,434,000. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,588 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 27,520 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,373,049.60. The trade was a 11.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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.

Graco Price Performance

NYSE GGG traded down $0.40 during trading on Thursday, reaching $85.08. The company's stock had a trading volume of 468,773 shares, compared to its average volume of 807,211. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $82.16 and a 200 day moving average of $84.27. Graco Inc. has a one year low of $72.06 and a one year high of $92.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.22 billion, a PE ratio of 30.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.07.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $528.28 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $526.98 million. Graco had a net margin of 23.00% and a return on equity of 19.38%. Graco's revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.65 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be issued a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.29%. 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.