Novem Group Has $994,000 Stock Holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Novem Group lifted its position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 34.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,900 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,052 shares during the quarter. Novem Group's holdings in Graco were worth $994,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Graco in the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Graco by 128.9% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 689 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. Sit Investment Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Graco in the 4th quarter valued at $80,000. Finally, USA Financial Formulas lifted its position in Graco by 43.6% in the 1st quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 1,057 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Graco Stock Down 1.4%

GGG traded down $1.21 during trading on Monday, hitting $87.58. The company had a trading volume of 636,248 shares, compared to its average volume of 801,526. The company has a market capitalization of $14.64 billion, a PE ratio of 30.95, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.06. Graco Inc. has a one year low of $72.06 and a one year high of $92.86. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $84.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $83.82.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.02. Graco had a net margin of 22.70% and a return on equity of 19.42%. The firm had revenue of $528.28 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $526.98 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.65 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.26%. Graco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Graco news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,588 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.23, for a total transaction of $309,393.24. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 27,520 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,373,049.60. The trade was a 11.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 2.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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