Graco Inc. $GGG Shares Bought by Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC

Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 398.8% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 14,096 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,270 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Graco were worth $944,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Essential Partners LLC increased its holdings in Graco by 78.6% in the 1st quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 359 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. BOKF NA boosted its position in shares of Graco by 2.1% during the third quarter. BOKF NA now owns 10,319 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $793,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A. boosted its position in shares of Graco by 5.0% during the second quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 5,270 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $398,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of Graco by 30.9% in the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,056 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $81,000 after buying an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Graco by 1.4% in the third quarter. Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC now owns 19,215 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,476,000 after buying an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on GGG. Robert W. Baird set a $80.00 target price on Graco in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Graco in a research note on Monday, November 2nd. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their price target on shares of Graco from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Graco in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $82.00 price objective (down from $95.00) on shares of Graco in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Graco presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $87.40.

Graco Stock Performance

Shares of GGG opened at $69.65 on Wednesday. Graco Inc. has a 1 year low of $65.96 and a 1 year high of $95.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.17 billion, a PE ratio of 22.40, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 2.12. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $75.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $80.45.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The industrial products company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $586.39 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $590.17 million. Graco had a return on equity of 20.13% and a net margin of 22.40%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.73 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.20 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 19th were issued a dividend of $0.2950 per share. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 19th. Graco’s payout ratio is 37.94%.

About Graco

Graco Inc. designs, manufactures and markets equipment used to move, measure, control, dispense and spray fluid and coating materials. Its products include pumps, meters, fluid-handling systems and spray equipment used with paints, coatings, sealants, lubricants and other materials. The company serves customers in industrial and process markets, as well as contractors working in areas such as painting, building maintenance and surface preparation. Graco sells its products worldwide through a network that includes distributors and direct sales.