Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC Raises Holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 19.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,783 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 769 shares during the quarter. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Graco were worth $403,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GGG. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Graco in the third quarter valued at $30,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Graco during the third quarter worth about $59,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Graco in the third quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Finally, Huntington National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Graco by 60.4% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 953 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 359 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Graco Stock Performance

GGG opened at $83.78 on Thursday. Graco Inc. has a 1 year low of $77.49 and a 1 year high of $94.77. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $86.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $84.23. The company has a market cap of $14.15 billion, a PE ratio of 29.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.84.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.05). Graco had a net margin of 22.87% and a return on equity of 21.24%. The business had revenue of $519.21 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $538.19 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.76 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 20th will be issued a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. This is a boost from Graco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on GGG. BNP Paribas upgraded Graco from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Graco from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $79.00 price target on shares of Graco in a report on Friday, September 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $91.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Peter J. O’shea sold 18,075 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $1,604,337.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 14,516 shares in the company, valued at $1,288,440.16. This trade represents a 55.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathryn L. Schoenrock sold 1,527 shares of Graco stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.30, for a total value of $137,888.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $575,572.20. The trade was a 19.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 31,098 shares of company stock worth $2,776,150 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Graco Company 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.