3,829 Shares in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Bought by Machina Capital S.A.S.

Key Points

• Machina Capital S.A.S. has acquired a new stake in Graco Inc., purchasing 3,829 shares valued at approximately $320,000 during the first quarter.
• Graco's stock has seen a 52-week low of $72.06 and a high of $92.86, with the company currently trading at $84.54.
• Graco recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.275 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $1.10, with a 1.30% yield.

Machina Capital S.A.S. bought a new stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 3,829 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $320,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position 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 buying an additional 183,335 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake 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 valued at $356,053,000 after purchasing an additional 77,093 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Graco by 2.7% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,390,940 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $199,667,000 after purchasing an additional 62,761 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Graco in the 4th quarter worth $177,434,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Graco by 36.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,929,952 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $162,676,000 after buying an additional 518,462 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.88% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Graco news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,588 shares of the 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 sale, the insider directly owned 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Graco Stock Down 0.1%

NYSE:GGG traded down $0.06 on Tuesday, reaching $84.42. The stock had a trading volume of 198,673 shares, compared to its average volume of 832,694. The company has a market capitalization of $13.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.06. Graco Inc. has a 1-year low of $72.06 and a 1-year high of $92.86. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $85.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $84.16.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.78 by ($0.03). Graco had a return on equity of 19.05% and a net margin of 22.26%. The company had revenue of $571.81 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $590.57 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.77 earnings per share. Graco's revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st will be issued a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. Graco's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on GGG shares. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Graco in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Graco from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday. Two investment 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 stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $94.50.

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.