Lecap Asset Management Ltd. Invests $571,000 in Graco Inc. $GGG

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 6,970 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $571,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GGG. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of Graco by 432.6% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 85,654 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,263,000 after purchasing an additional 69,573 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its holdings in Graco by 154.2% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 64,341 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,466,000 after buying an additional 39,031 shares during the period. Raiffeisen Bank International AG boosted its holdings in Graco by 191.8% in the 3rd quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 8,809 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $744,000 after buying an additional 5,790 shares during the period. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd grew its stake in Graco by 40.5% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 45,544 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,869,000 after buying an additional 13,130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Graco during the 4th quarter valued at $3,527,000. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Graco news, Director J Kevin Gilligan sold 12,870 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.07, for a total value of $1,146,330.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Kathryn L. Schoenrock sold 2,223 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 7,846 shares in the company, valued at approximately $690,918.76. The trade was a 22.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 19,394 shares of company stock valued at $1,739,326 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on GGG. Weiss Ratings upgraded Graco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Robert W. Baird set a $96.00 price target on Graco in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Graco from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Graco in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Graco from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Graco has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.50.

Graco Price Performance

NYSE GGG opened at $86.87 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $88.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $85.46. Graco Inc. has a 1 year low of $75.91 and a 1 year high of $95.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.40 billion, a PE ratio of 28.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.09.

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

Graco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Investors of record on Monday, April 13th will be given a dividend of $0.295 per share. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 13th. Graco’s payout ratio is presently 38.19%.

Graco 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.