Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Stock Holdings Raised by Madison Asset Management LLC

Madison Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 9.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 497,585 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 44,399 shares during the period. Madison Asset Management LLC owned about 0.30% of Graco worth $41,553,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of GGG. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Graco by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 14,548 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,226,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC grew its position in shares of Graco by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 6,347 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $530,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the period. Values First Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Graco by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. now owns 23,084 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,927,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 190 shares during the period. Finally, Optas LLC boosted its holdings in Graco by 6.0% in the 1st quarter. Optas LLC now owns 3,560 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $297,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Graco

In other Graco news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,588 shares of Graco 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 transaction, the insider owned 27,520 shares in the company, valued at $2,373,049.60. This trade represents a 11.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 2.19% of the company's stock.

Graco Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of GGG traded down $0.30 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $84.54. 1,292,341 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 741,922. Graco Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $72.06 and a fifty-two week high of $92.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.06. The business's 50 day moving average is $85.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.11.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last issued 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 net margin of 22.26% and a return on equity of 19.05%. The company had revenue of $571.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $590.57 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.77 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st will be given a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.30%. Graco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GGG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Graco in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Graco from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.