Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Shares Purchased by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 2.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,390,940 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 62,761 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 1.43% of Graco worth $199,667,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised 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 buying an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Graco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Graco by 128.9% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 689 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares during the period. Sit Investment Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Graco during the 4th quarter valued at $80,000. Finally, USA Financial Formulas raised its holdings in Graco by 43.6% during the 1st quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 1,057 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $88,000 after buying an additional 321 shares during the period. 93.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Graco

In related news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,588 shares of the business's 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 27,520 shares in the company, valued at $2,373,049.60. The trade was a 11.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 2.19% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wolfe Research started coverage on Graco in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $93.00.

Graco Stock Performance

NYSE GGG traded down $1.21 on Monday, reaching $87.58. 636,248 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 801,526. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $84.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $83.80. The company has a market cap of $14.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.95, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.06. Graco Inc. has a 12 month low of $72.06 and a 12 month high of $92.86.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $528.28 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $526.98 million. Graco had a return on equity of 19.42% and a net margin of 22.70%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.65 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate 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 paid a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. Graco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.87%.

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.