Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI Grows Stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI raised its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 179.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 77,867 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 50,000 shares during the period. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI's holdings in Graco were worth $6,756,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in GGG. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Graco by 102,901.6% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,793,696 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $322,424,000 after purchasing an additional 4,789,042 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in shares of Graco by 156.6% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,453,162 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $299,520,000 after purchasing an additional 2,718,018 shares in the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Graco by 251.2% in the 3rd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,619,979 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $190,944,000 after purchasing an additional 1,873,902 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Graco during the 4th quarter valued at about $116,116,000. Finally, BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in Graco by 10.0% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 16,868,602 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,231,577,000 after acquiring an additional 1,538,176 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.88% of the company's stock.

Graco Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of Graco stock traded down $1.23 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $92.23. 742,336 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 672,023. Graco Inc. has a twelve month low of $68.76 and a twelve month high of $94.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $89.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $82.83.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.01. Graco had a net margin of 23.07% and a return on equity of 24.61%. The company had revenue of $566.64 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $565.86 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 3.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be given a $0.255 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.11%. Graco's dividend payout ratio is presently 34.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Angela F. Wordell sold 3,588 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.60, for a total value of $335,836.80. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 12,725 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,191,060. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Graco news, insider Anthony J. Gargano sold 1,395 shares of Graco stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.00, for a total transaction of $122,760.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,697 shares of the company's stock, valued at $501,336. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Angela F. Wordell sold 3,588 shares of Graco stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.60, for a total transaction of $335,836.80. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 12,725 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,191,060. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 61,262 shares of company stock valued at $5,450,667. Insiders own 2.63% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Graco from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Graco from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Graco from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Graco has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $84.80.

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.