RIA Advisory Group LLC Grows Holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

RIA Advisory Group LLC increased its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 547.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 21,676 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 18,327 shares during the period. Graco comprises approximately 0.5% of RIA Advisory Group LLC's holdings, making the stock its 26th largest position. RIA Advisory Group LLC's holdings in Graco were worth $1,881,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Graco by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,085,518 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,245,193,000 after purchasing an additional 726,245 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. lifted its stake in Graco by 10.0% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 16,868,602 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,231,577,000 after purchasing an additional 1,538,176 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Graco by 13.0% in the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,619,918 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $556,330,000 after purchasing an additional 878,009 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in 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 worth $322,424,000 after purchasing an additional 4,789,042 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in Graco by 156.6% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,453,162 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $299,520,000 after purchasing an additional 2,718,018 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Timothy R. White sold 2,895 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.49, for a total transaction of $253,283.55. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 50,782 shares in the company, valued at $4,442,917.18. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through 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 shares were sold at an average price of $87.49, for a total transaction of $253,283.55. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 50,782 shares in the company, valued at $4,442,917.18. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Angela F. Wordell sold 3,588 shares of the 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 directly owns 12,725 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,191,060. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 48,378 shares of company stock worth $4,376,528 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.63% of the company's stock.

Graco Price Performance

GGG stock traded up $0.33 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $88.42. The company had a trading volume of 487,106 shares, compared to its average volume of 649,992. The company has a market capitalization of $14.90 billion, a PE ratio of 30.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.81. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $91.19 and a 200 day moving average of $84.46. Graco Inc. has a 12 month low of $68.78 and a 12 month high of $94.77.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $566.64 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $565.86 million. Graco had a net margin of 23.07% and a return on equity of 24.61%. Analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 3.14 EPS for the current year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a $0.255 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.15%. Graco's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.