Baillie Gifford & Co. Makes New Investment in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Baillie Gifford & Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 142,649 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $12,376,000. Baillie Gifford & Co. owned 0.08% of Graco as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Tobam raised its stake in shares of Graco by 2,330.8% during the fourth quarter. Tobam now owns 316 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Graco during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of Graco during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Money Concepts Capital Corp raised its position in Graco by 569.7% in the fourth quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 509 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 433 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Graco in the second quarter worth about $35,000. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GGG has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Graco from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Graco from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Graco from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Graco presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $84.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Graco

In other Graco news, insider Timothy R. White sold 2,895 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.49, for a total transaction of $253,283.55. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 50,782 shares in the company, valued at $4,442,917.18. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Timothy R. White sold 2,895 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.49, for a total value of $253,283.55. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 50,782 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,442,917.18. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anthony J. Gargano sold 1,395 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.00, for a total value of $122,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,697 shares of the company's stock, valued at $501,336. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 48,378 shares of company stock worth $4,376,528 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.63% of the company's stock.

Graco Price Performance

NYSE:GGG traded down $0.34 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $91.27. The stock had a trading volume of 646,810 shares, compared to its average volume of 660,283. The business's 50 day moving average is $91.00 and its 200 day moving average is $83.79. Graco Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $68.78 and a fifty-two week high of $94.77. The stock has a market cap of $15.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.04, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.81.

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

Graco Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.255 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.12%. Graco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.69%.

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.