7,559 Shares in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Acquired by Lecap Asset Management Ltd.

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 7,559 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $656,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Graco during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,112,000. WCM Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Graco by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 65,776 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,713,000 after purchasing an additional 7,364 shares in the last quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC increased its holdings in Graco by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 21,038 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,825,000 after purchasing an additional 516 shares in the last quarter. Ellis Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Graco during the 4th quarter valued at $201,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Graco during the 4th quarter valued at $339,000. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Graco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GGG traded down $1.55 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $89.47. The stock had a trading volume of 656,357 shares, compared to its average volume of 636,143. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $91.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $83.98. The firm has a market cap of $15.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.81. Graco Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $68.78 and a fifty-two week high of $94.77.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $566.64 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $565.86 million. Graco had a return on equity of 24.61% and a net margin of 23.07%. Equities analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Monday, April 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.255 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.14%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.69%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on GGG. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Graco from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Graco from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com raised Graco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Anthony J. Gargano sold 1,395 shares of Graco stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.00, for a total transaction of $122,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $501,336. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Graco news, insider Anthony J. Gargano sold 1,395 shares of Graco stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.00, for a total transaction of $122,760.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,697 shares in the company, valued at $501,336. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Angela F. Wordell sold 3,588 shares of Graco stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.60, for a total value of $335,836.80. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 12,725 shares in the company, valued at $1,191,060. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 48,378 shares of company stock valued at $4,376,528 over the last three months. Company insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

About Graco

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.