Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. Acquires 3,279 Shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 83,491 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 3,279 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.’s holdings in Graco were worth $7,306,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gradient Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Graco in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Graco in the first quarter worth $43,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of Graco by 187.8% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 495 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 323 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Graco by 220.9% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 690 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tobam raised its holdings in Graco by 90.2% in the 1st quarter. Tobam now owns 601 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the period. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Graco from $87.00 to $86.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Graco from $99.00 to $96.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $79.00 price target on shares of Graco in a report on Friday, September 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $90.25.

Graco Price Performance

GGG traded down $0.64 during trading on Monday, reaching $85.03. The company had a trading volume of 543,509 shares, compared to its average volume of 727,799. The company has a market cap of $14.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.32, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.81. Graco Inc. has a 12 month low of $69.78 and a 12 month high of $94.77. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $83.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $82.89.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.01. Graco had a net margin of 23.16% and a return on equity of 22.40%. The firm had revenue of $553.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $562.27 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.75 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 2.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.255 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 21st. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.20%. Graco’s payout ratio is presently 35.17%.

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.