Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Position Increased by SG Americas Securities LLC

SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 694.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 69,798 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 61,013 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC's holdings in Graco were worth $5,829,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GGG. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Graco in the 4th quarter valued at about $177,434,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Graco by 26,738.4% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,841,916 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $155,255,000 after acquiring an additional 1,835,053 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Graco by 36.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,929,952 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $162,676,000 after acquiring an additional 518,462 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Graco by 76.0% during the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,147,341 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $96,709,000 after acquiring an additional 495,293 shares during the period. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Graco by 48.1% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,497,164 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $126,196,000 after acquiring an additional 486,277 shares during the period. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Graco Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of GGG stock traded down $1.65 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $83.48. 612,732 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 808,149. The firm has a market cap of $13.95 billion, a PE ratio of 29.60, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.07. Graco Inc. has a 1 year low of $72.06 and a 1 year high of $92.86. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $82.56 and a 200 day moving average of $84.13.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $528.28 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $526.98 million. Graco had a net margin of 23.00% and a return on equity of 19.38%. The company's revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.65 EPS. Analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

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 of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.32%. Graco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Graco

In other news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,588 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 27,520 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,373,049.60. The trade was a 11.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.