American Century Companies Inc. Lowers Stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

American Century Companies Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 22.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 382,534 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 112,376 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.23% of Graco worth $32,244,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in Graco by 93.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 13,380 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,171,000 after buying an additional 6,464 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in Graco by 10.3% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 12,800 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,120,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in shares of Graco by 194.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 220,661 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $19,339,000 after buying an additional 145,599 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Graco by 33.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 32,418 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,837,000 after purchasing an additional 8,166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Graco during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.88% of the company's stock.

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Graco Stock Performance

NYSE GGG traded up $0.29 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $84.66. The company's stock had a trading volume of 952,197 shares, compared to its average volume of 780,640. The stock has a market cap of $14.23 billion, a PE ratio of 30.02, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.83. The company's 50-day moving average is $84.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $85.66. Graco Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $77.49 and a fifty-two week high of $93.01.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The industrial products company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.77 by ($0.13). Graco had a net margin of 23.00% and a return on equity of 19.38%. Equities analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 14th. Graco's payout ratio is 39.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GGG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Graco from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $105.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Graco from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, DA Davidson set a $85.00 price target on Graco in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $93.00.

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.