Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. Buys 7,539 Shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 44.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,417 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,539 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.'s holdings in Graco were worth $2,039,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Graco in the first quarter valued at about $2,335,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Graco by 128.9% in the first 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 during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Graco by 149.5% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 4,992 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $416,000 after acquiring an additional 2,991 shares during the last quarter. Aurora Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in Graco in the first quarter valued at approximately $993,000. Finally, Lecap Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Graco in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,900,000. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Graco

In other 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 transaction of $309,393.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 27,520 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,373,049.60. This represents a 11.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.19% of the company's stock.

Graco Trading Up 0.3%

Graco stock traded up $0.30 during trading on Friday, hitting $88.79. 466,993 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 802,190. The business's 50 day moving average is $84.75 and its 200 day moving average is $83.81. Graco Inc. has a 52 week low of $72.06 and a 52 week high of $92.86. The company has a market capitalization of $14.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.37, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.06.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.02. Graco had a return on equity of 19.42% and a net margin of 22.70%. The firm had revenue of $528.28 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $526.98 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.65 EPS. The business's revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. Graco's payout ratio is 38.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wolfe Research started coverage on Graco in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. They set 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $93.00.

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.