Fenimore Asset Management Inc Has $91.56 Million Holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Fenimore Asset Management Inc lifted its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 0.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,086,218 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 722 shares during the period. Graco comprises 1.9% of Fenimore Asset Management Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Fenimore Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Graco were worth $91,557,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Graco by 244.4% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,990,742 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $174,210,000 after buying an additional 1,412,704 shares during the period. Canoe Financial LP increased its stake in Graco by 359.2% in the fourth quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 640,474 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $53,986,000 after acquiring an additional 501,003 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in Graco by 6.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,458,988 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $652,736,000 after acquiring an additional 443,141 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its position in Graco by 142.9% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 652,048 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $57,061,000 after purchasing an additional 383,599 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sarasin & Partners LLP bought a new position in Graco during the fourth quarter worth about $23,446,000. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Graco Price Performance

NYSE GGG opened at $85.62 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $86.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $84.52. Graco Inc. has a one year low of $77.49 and a one year high of $94.77. The firm has a market cap of $14.46 billion, a PE ratio of 30.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.84.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.05). Graco had a return on equity of 21.24% and a net margin of 22.87%. The business had revenue of $519.21 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $538.19 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.76 EPS. Graco’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Investors of record on Monday, January 20th will be given a dividend of $0.275 per share. This is an increase from Graco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.28%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is 38.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GGG. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $79.00 price objective on shares of Graco in a research note on Friday, September 27th. BNP Paribas upgraded Graco from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Graco from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Graco currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $91.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Graco

In other Graco news, EVP Kathryn L. Schoenrock sold 1,527 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.30, for a total transaction of $137,888.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $575,572.20. The trade was a 19.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Peter J. O’shea sold 18,075 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $1,604,337.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 14,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,288,440.16. The trade was a 55.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 31,098 shares of company stock worth $2,776,150. 2.63% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.