Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. Buys 172 Shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 3.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,830 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Graco were worth $423,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Gradient Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Graco in the second quarter worth $27,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new stake in Graco during the first quarter worth about $43,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Graco by 187.8% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 495 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of Graco during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $59,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Graco by 220.9% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 690 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares during the period. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on GGG shares. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered 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, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $79.00 price objective on shares of Graco in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $89.25.

Graco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GGG opened at $89.62 on Friday. Graco Inc. has a 52-week low of $77.49 and a 52-week high of $94.77. The company has a market capitalization of $15.13 billion, a PE ratio of 31.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a fifty day moving average of $85.13 and a 200-day moving average of $82.47.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.05). Graco had a return on equity of 21.24% and a net margin of 22.87%. The firm had revenue of $519.21 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $538.19 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.76 EPS. Graco’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 2.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st were issued a $0.255 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 21st. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.14%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,216 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.31, for a total transaction of $284,004.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 27,246 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,406,094.26. This trade represents a 10.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.63% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.