K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc Has $2.01 Million Stock Position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc increased its position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 27.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 23,215 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 4,950 shares during the quarter. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc’s holdings in Graco were worth $2,014,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Tobam raised its holdings in Graco by 2,330.8% in the fourth quarter. Tobam now owns 316 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Graco in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of Graco in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Graco by 3,063.2% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 601 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 582 shares during the period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Graco by 370.7% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 626 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 493 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Graco Price Performance

NYSE GGG traded down $0.57 on Friday, hitting $82.56. 1,086,309 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 672,190. The business’s fifty day moving average is $91.14 and its 200 day moving average is $84.84. Graco Inc. has a 52 week low of $69.78 and a 52 week high of $94.77. The company has a market capitalization of $13.91 billion, a PE ratio of 28.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.81.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The industrial products company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $492.19 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $536.19 million. Graco had a net margin of 23.15% and a return on equity of 23.43%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.74 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be given a dividend of $0.255 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.24%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Graco

In other Graco news, VP Angela F. Wordell sold 3,588 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.60, for a total transaction of $335,836.80. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 12,725 shares in the company, valued at $1,191,060. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Timothy R. White sold 2,895 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.49, for a total transaction of $253,283.55. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 50,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,442,917.18. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Angela F. Wordell sold 3,588 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.60, for a total transaction of $335,836.80. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 12,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,191,060. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 48,378 shares of company stock worth $4,376,528 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on GGG. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Graco in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com raised shares of Graco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Graco from $90.00 to $87.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Graco from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Graco from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.60.

About Graco

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.