Benjamin Edwards Inc. Has $7.42 Million Holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 5,832.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 84,830 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 83,400 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. owned approximately 0.05% of Graco worth $7,424,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its holdings in Graco by 5.5% in the second quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 2,309 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $183,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC increased 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 valued at $369,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Graco by 7.1% during the second quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 2,031 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $161,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Graco by 8.8% during the second quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,687 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $134,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Graco by 6.3% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,397 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $190,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Graco Trading Down 0.4 %

GGG stock opened at $90.72 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $86.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $83.00. Graco Inc. has a 1-year low of $77.49 and a 1-year high of $94.77. The stock has a market cap of $15.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.82.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.05). Graco had a net margin of 22.87% and a return on equity of 21.24%. 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 prior year, the company earned $0.76 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 2.89 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 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 21st were given a dividend of $0.255 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 21st. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.12%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.04%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,216 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.31, for a total transaction of $284,004.96. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 27,246 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,406,094.26. The trade was a 10.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathryn L. Schoenrock sold 1,527 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.30, for a total value of $137,888.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $575,572.20. The trade was a 19.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 22,818 shares of company stock valued at $2,026,230 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Graco from $96.00 to $93.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $79.00 target price on shares of Graco in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.