Natixis Advisors LLC Increases Holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in Graco Inc. by 9.9% during Q1, owning 238,125 shares valued at approximately $19.9 million.
• Graco reported a quarterly earnings of $0.75 per share, missing estimates of $0.78, with revenue reaching $571.81 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.275, representing an annual yield of 1.3%, to be paid on August 6th for shareholders on record as of July 21st.

Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 9.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 238,125 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 21,463 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.14% of Graco worth $19,886,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its holdings in Graco by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 14,548 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,226,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC boosted its position in Graco by 2.7% during the first quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 6,347 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $530,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the period. Values First Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Graco by 0.8% during the first quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. now owns 23,084 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,927,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Optas LLC boosted its position in Graco by 6.0% during the first quarter. Optas LLC now owns 3,560 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Resonant Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Graco by 5.5% in the first quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,843 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $321,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,588 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 27,520 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,373,049.60. This represents a 11.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GGG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Graco from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Graco in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. They issued 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 MarketBeat, Graco currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $94.50.

Graco Trading Up 0.9%

NYSE GGG traded up $0.73 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $83.82. 562,656 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 776,207. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $85.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $84.15. Graco Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $72.06 and a fifty-two week high of $92.86. The company has a market cap of $13.89 billion, a PE ratio of 29.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.04.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last announced its 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). The company had revenue of $571.81 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $590.57 million. Graco had a net margin of 22.26% and a return on equity of 19.05%. The business's revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.77 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

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 issued a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. Graco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.01%.

Graco 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.