Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Shares Acquired by State of Alaska Department of Revenue

State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its holdings in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 34.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 38,415 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 9,883 shares during the quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue's holdings in Graco were worth $3,207,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its position in Graco by 118.0% in 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 in the last quarter. National Pension Service purchased a new position in shares of Graco in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Graco during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Graco during the 4th quarter worth $46,000. Finally, Sit Investment Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Graco in the fourth quarter worth about $80,000. 93.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Graco Stock Down 0.3%

GGG stock traded down $0.27 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $85.27. 597,921 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 808,711. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.07. Graco Inc. has a 52 week low of $72.06 and a 52 week high of $92.86. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $83.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $83.85.

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

Graco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. Graco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.87%.

Insider Activity

In other Graco news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,588 shares of the firm's 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 now directly owns 27,520 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,373,049.60. This trade represents a 11.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.19% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Graco in a research 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 assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $93.00.

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.