Acadian Asset Management LLC Buys 731,939 Shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 100.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,457,360 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 731,939 shares during the quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC owned about 0.87% of Graco worth $106,380,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Graco by 102,901.6% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,793,696 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $322,424,000 after purchasing an additional 4,789,042 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in shares of Graco by 156.6% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,453,162 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $299,520,000 after purchasing an additional 2,718,018 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Graco in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $116,116,000. StonePine Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Graco by 626.8% in the first quarter. StonePine Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,643,741 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $120,010,000 after acquiring an additional 1,417,574 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Graco by 452.4% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,465,466 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $98,567,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200,165 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.47% of the company's stock.

Graco stock traded up $1.19 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $77.32. 365,155 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 887,400. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $82.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $76.57. The firm has a market cap of $13.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.81. Graco Inc. has a 1 year low of $58.17 and a 1 year high of $87.94.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 26th. The industrial products company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.78 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $559.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $576.14 million. Graco had a net margin of 23.10% and a return on equity of 25.52%. Graco's quarterly revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.68 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 2.99 EPS for the current year.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 17th were paid a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 14th. Graco's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.97%.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on GGG. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Graco from $70.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 27th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Graco from $94.00 to $91.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 28th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Graco from $75.00 to $83.00 in a research note on Friday, April 28th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Graco from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, William Blair restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Graco in a research report on Monday, June 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $83.00.

View Our Latest Research Report on Graco

In other news, insider Caroline M. Chambers sold 7,060 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.04, for a total transaction of $543,902.40. Following the sale, the insider now owns 49,381 shares in the company, valued at $3,804,312.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Timothy R. White sold 2,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.77, for a total transaction of $228,879.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 50,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,304,790.14. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Caroline M. Chambers sold 7,060 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.04, for a total transaction of $543,902.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 49,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,804,312.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.98% of the company's stock.

Graco Inc designs, manufactures, and markets systems and equipment used to move, measure, control, dispense, and spray fluid and powder materials worldwide. The company's Industrial segment offers proportioning systems to spray polyurethane foam and polyurea coatings; equipment that pumps, meters, mixes and dispenses sealant, adhesive, and composite materials; and gel-coat equipment, chop and wet-out systems, resin transfer molding systems and applicators, and precision dispensing solutions.

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