Franklin Resources Inc. Increases Holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 37.2% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 119,708 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 32,475 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Graco were worth $10,413,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Graco by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,458,988 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $652,736,000 after purchasing an additional 443,141 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Graco by 4.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,152,292 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $362,808,000 after buying an additional 188,579 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Graco by 244.4% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,990,742 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $174,210,000 after buying an additional 1,412,704 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Graco by 5.6% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,732,600 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $137,361,000 after acquiring an additional 91,794 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Graco by 4.1% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,111,152 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $97,237,000 after acquiring an additional 43,923 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Graco

In other news, insider Caroline M. Chambers sold 8,280 shares of Graco stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.57, for a total transaction of $749,919.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 57,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,217,918.84. The trade was a 12.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Kathryn L. Schoenrock sold 1,527 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $575,572.20. The trade was a 19.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 31,098 shares of company stock worth $2,776,150. 2.63% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $79.00 target price on shares of Graco in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Graco from $96.00 to $93.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised Graco from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $92.40.

Graco Trading Down 0.0 %

GGG opened at $84.71 on Friday. Graco Inc. has a 12 month low of $77.49 and a 12 month high of $94.77. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $87.18 and a 200 day moving average of $83.70. The firm has a market cap of $14.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.83.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last announced its 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). The company had revenue of $519.21 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $538.19 million. Graco had a return on equity of 21.24% and a net margin of 22.87%. Graco’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.76 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 20th will be paid a $0.275 dividend. This is a positive change from Graco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.30%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.87%.

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.