Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Shares Bought by US Bancorp DE

Key Points

• US Bancorp DE increased its stake in Graco Inc. by 30.2% during the first quarter, acquiring an additional 68,084 shares, bringing their total ownership to 293,211 shares worth $24.5 million.
• Graco recently reported quarterly earnings of $0.75 per share, missing analysts' estimates by $0.03, with revenues of $571.81 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.275 per share, with a yield of 1.3%, payable on August 6th to shareholders of record as of July 21st.

US Bancorp DE raised its position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 30.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 293,211 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 68,084 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE owned about 0.18% of Graco worth $24,486,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Graco by 26,738.4% in 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 in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Graco by 36.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,929,952 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $162,676,000 after buying an additional 518,462 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its position in Graco by 76.0% during the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,147,341 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $96,709,000 after buying an additional 495,293 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Graco by 48.1% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,497,164 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $126,196,000 after buying an additional 486,277 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Graco by 9,453.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 400,180 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $33,419,000 after purchasing an additional 395,991 shares in the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Graco

In other news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,588 shares of Graco 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 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Graco Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of Graco stock traded up $0.73 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $83.82. The company had a trading volume of 562,656 shares, compared to its average volume of 776,207. Graco Inc. has a 12-month low of $72.06 and a 12-month high of $92.86. The stock has a market cap of $13.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.72, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $85.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $84.15.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.78 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $571.81 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $590.57 million. Graco had a return on equity of 19.05% and a net margin of 22.26%. Graco's revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.77 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 21st. Graco's payout ratio is 39.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on GGG shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Graco from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Graco in a 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 issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $94.50.

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.