Brooklyn Investment Group Buys 136 Shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Brooklyn Investment Group grew its stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 39.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 484 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group’s holdings in Graco were worth $41,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GGG. Albert D Mason Inc. lifted its stake in Graco by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. now owns 27,923 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,354,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Graco by 3.1% during the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 4,222 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $369,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Graco by 0.9% in the third quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,602 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,453,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Equitable Trust Co. grew its position in Graco by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 6,664 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $583,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. Finally, Claro Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Graco by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 9,071 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $794,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Graco

In related news, insider Caroline M. Chambers sold 8,280 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.57, for a total transaction of $749,919.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 57,612 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,217,918.84. The trade was a 12.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Peter J. O’shea sold 18,075 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 14,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,288,440.16. The trade was a 55.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 31,098 shares of company stock valued at $2,776,150 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Graco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GGG opened at $85.26 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.84. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $86.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $84.36. Graco Inc. has a 1 year low of $77.49 and a 1 year high of $94.77.

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

Graco Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 20th will be given a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. This is an increase from Graco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GGG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Graco from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $79.00 price objective on shares of Graco in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target 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. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of Graco from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $91.50.

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.