Cerity Partners LLC Purchases 9,811 Shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 55.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,513 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,811 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Graco were worth $2,298,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in Graco by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 57,764 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $4,869,000 after buying an additional 935 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its holdings in Graco by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 5,239 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $442,000 after buying an additional 411 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. grew its holdings in Graco by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 28,109 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,369,000 after buying an additional 2,107 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Graco by 118.0% during the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 351 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in Graco by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 241,962 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $20,395,000 after buying an additional 34,794 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.88% of the company's stock.

Graco Stock Up 0.0%

GGG traded up $0.03 on Wednesday, hitting $87.23. The company had a trading volume of 979,879 shares, compared to its average volume of 799,013. The company has a market cap of $14.58 billion, a PE ratio of 30.82, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.06. Graco Inc. has a 12-month low of $72.06 and a 12-month high of $92.86. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $85.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $84.06.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.03). Graco had a return on equity of 19.42% and a net margin of 22.70%. Graco's revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.77 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. Graco's payout ratio is currently 38.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Transactions at Graco

In other Graco news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,588 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider owned 27,520 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,373,049.60. This trade represents a 11.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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.