Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Shares Acquired by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 55.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,513 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 9,811 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Graco were worth $2,298,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Graco by 118.0% in the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 351 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Graco in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Graco by 128.9% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 689 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. Sit Investment Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Graco in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $80,000. Finally, USA Financial Formulas boosted its stake in shares of Graco by 43.6% in the first quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 1,057 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $88,000 after buying an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.88% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Graco

In other news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,588 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.23, for a total transaction of $309,393.24. Following the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.19% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Graco Trading Down 1.0%

Graco stock opened at $86.82 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.68, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.06. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $85.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $84.02. Graco Inc. has a 52 week low of $72.06 and a 52 week 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 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $526.98 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.65 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. 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 currently 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.

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