PineStone Asset Management Inc. Has $310.58 Million Holdings in Graco Inc. $GGG

PineStone Asset Management Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,788,983 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 13,327 shares during the period. Graco makes up about 1.9% of PineStone Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. PineStone Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Graco were worth $310,583,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in GGG. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Graco by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,571,060 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $643,237,000 after purchasing an additional 99,097 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Graco by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,458,857 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $208,908,000 after purchasing an additional 75,285 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its stake in shares of Graco by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 2,076,887 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $176,016,000 after purchasing an additional 53,126 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Graco in the second quarter valued at about $170,661,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Graco by 0.8% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,865,673 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $158,508,000 after purchasing an additional 14,764 shares in the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Kathryn L. Schoenrock sold 2,223 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.06, for a total value of $195,757.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 7,846 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $690,918.76. This trade represents a 22.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director J Kevin Gilligan sold 12,870 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.07, for a total transaction of $1,146,330.90. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 19,394 shares of company stock worth $1,739,326 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on GGG shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Graco from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Graco from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Weiss Ratings raised Graco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Graco in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $96.00 price objective on shares of Graco in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $96.50.

Graco Price Performance

Graco stock opened at $84.70 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $89.45 and a 200-day moving average of $85.31. Graco Inc. has a one year low of $72.06 and a one year high of $95.69. The company has a market cap of $14.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.07.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The industrial products company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77. Graco had a return on equity of 19.49% and a net margin of 23.33%.The business had revenue of $593.16 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $591.99 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.64 earnings per share. Graco’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Friday, December 5th that permits the company to repurchase 15,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Graco Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 13th will be paid a $0.295 dividend. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 13th. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.19%.

Graco Company Profile

Graco Inc is a leading manufacturer of fluid handling systems and components, headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded in 1926, the company has built a reputation for innovation in spray finishing, lubrication, and fluid management technologies. Graco’s solutions are designed to address the needs of paint and coatings applicators, general industry, and process fluids in a variety of end markets.

The company’s product portfolio includes airless and air-assisted spray equipment, pumps for oil and gas applications, industrial lubrication systems, and automated dispensing equipment.