Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Shares Acquired by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 244.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,990,742 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,412,704 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 1.18% of Graco worth $174,210,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GGG. Gradient Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Graco during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new stake in Graco in the first quarter valued at approximately $43,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in Graco by 187.8% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 495 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 323 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Graco by 220.9% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 690 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in Graco during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $59,000. 93.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Graco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GGG opened at $87.53 on Friday. Graco Inc. has a 1 year low of $76.28 and a 1 year high of $94.77. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $84.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $82.33. The company has a market capitalization of $14.78 billion, a PE ratio of 30.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.82.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last posted 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). Graco had a return on equity of 21.24% and a net margin of 22.87%. The firm had revenue of $519.21 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $538.19 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.76 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 2.92 EPS for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 21st were given a $0.255 dividend. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 21st. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.04%.

Insider Transactions at Graco

In related news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,216 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.31, for a total value of $284,004.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 27,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,406,094.26. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Graco from $96.00 to $93.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $79.00 price target on shares of Graco in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $89.25.

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.