Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 431,224 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 6,105 shares during the period. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC owned 0.26% of Graco worth $36,348,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in Graco by 43.5% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 128,076 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,154,000 after purchasing an additional 38,853 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in shares of Graco by 38.2% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,063 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $164,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Graco in the second quarter valued at $985,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in Graco by 44.3% in the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 47,590 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,165,000 after buying an additional 14,600 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Graco by 19.4% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,861 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird reduced 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. 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 research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Graco from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $91.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Kathryn L. Schoenrock sold 1,527 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.30, for a total value of $137,888.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $575,572.20. This represents a 19.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Caroline M. Chambers sold 8,280 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.57, for a total value of $749,919.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 57,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,217,918.84. The trade was a 12.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 31,098 shares of company stock valued at $2,776,150. Insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Graco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GGG opened at $82.02 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.85 billion, a PE ratio of 29.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.84. Graco Inc. has a 1-year low of $77.49 and a 1-year high of $94.77. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $86.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $84.67.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The industrial products company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.77 by ($0.13). Graco had a return on equity of 19.38% and a net margin of 23.00%. Equities research analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. 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 is 39.01%.

Graco Company 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.