Dark Forest Capital Management LP Buys New Holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Dark Forest Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 11,748 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $990,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Graco in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Graco by 118.0% in the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 351 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service bought a new position in shares of Graco during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Graco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group increased its position in shares of Graco by 39.1% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 484 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the period. 93.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. DA Davidson set a $85.00 target price on Graco in a report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Graco from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $93.00.

Graco Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of GGG traded up $0.02 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $81.38. 1,031,042 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 817,623. The firm has a market cap of $13.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.86, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.92. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $82.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $84.66. Graco Inc. has a 12-month low of $72.06 and a 12-month high of $92.86.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.02. Graco had a net margin of 23.00% and a return on equity of 19.38%. The business had revenue of $528.28 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $526.98 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.65 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 14th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.35%. Graco's payout ratio is 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.