Narwhal Capital Management Buys 6,410 Shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Narwhal Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 7.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 90,011 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,410 shares during the period. Narwhal Capital Management owned approximately 0.05% of Graco worth $7,517,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Graco by 118.0% during the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 351 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service bought a new position in shares of Graco in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Graco in the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Graco in the fourth quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, Sit Investment Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Graco in the fourth quarter worth approximately $80,000. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Activity at Graco

In related news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,588 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.23, for a total transaction of $309,393.24. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 27,520 shares in the company, valued at $2,373,049.60. This 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 the SEC website. 2.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Graco Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE GGG traded up $1.01 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $86.30. The stock had a trading volume of 480,596 shares, compared to its average volume of 805,689. The business's 50 day moving average is $83.73 and its 200-day moving average is $83.83. The company has a market cap of $14.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.49, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.07. 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 issued 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 company had revenue of $528.28 million for 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 firm'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 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 1.27%. Graco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.