Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Has $10.56 Million Holdings in Graco Inc. $GGG

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans decreased its stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 16.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 124,334 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 23,647 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Graco were worth $10,563,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Graco by 15.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 330,409 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,592,000 after acquiring an additional 44,573 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Graco by 982.6% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 498 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 452 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in Graco by 3.7% in the second quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 25,310 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,176,000 after purchasing an additional 893 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Graco by 17.6% in the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 24,260 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,086,000 after purchasing an additional 3,636 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS raised its holdings in Graco by 1.9% in the second quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 59,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,072,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on GGG. Robert W. Baird set a $96.00 price target on shares of Graco in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Graco from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Graco in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Graco from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Graco in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $96.50.

Graco Trading Up 3.2%

GGG stock opened at $91.66 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $84.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $84.01. Graco Inc. has a 1 year low of $72.06 and a 1 year high of $91.80. The stock has a market cap of $15.20 billion, a PE ratio of 29.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.08.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The industrial products company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77. The company had revenue of $593.16 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $591.99 million. Graco had a return on equity of 19.49% and a net margin of 23.33%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.64 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 19th were given a dividend of $0.295 per share. This is an increase from Graco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 16th. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Graco’s payout ratio is currently 38.19%.

Graco declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Friday, December 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase 15,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Graco

In other news, Director J Kevin Gilligan sold 12,870 shares of Graco stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.07, for a total value of $1,146,330.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathryn L. Schoenrock sold 2,223 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.06, for a total transaction of $195,757.38. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 7,846 shares in the company, valued at approximately $690,918.76. This represents a 22.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 2.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Graco Profile

Graco Inc is a leading manufacturer of fluid handling systems and components, headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded in 1926, the company has built a reputation for innovation in spray finishing, lubrication, and fluid management technologies. Graco’s solutions are designed to address the needs of paint and coatings applicators, general industry, and process fluids in a variety of end markets.

The company’s product portfolio includes airless and air-assisted spray equipment, pumps for oil and gas applications, industrial lubrication systems, and automated dispensing equipment.