First Trust Advisors LP Has $92.04 Million Position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 16.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,091,987 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 151,067 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.65% of Graco worth $92,044,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Graco in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Graco by 118.0% during the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 351 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. National Pension Service bought a new position in shares of Graco during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Graco in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group raised its holdings in shares of Graco by 39.1% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 484 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on GGG shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Graco from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. DA Davidson set a $85.00 target price on Graco in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Graco currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $93.00.

Graco Stock Performance

NYSE GGG traded up $0.93 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $81.43. 1,205,151 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 821,111. The business's 50-day moving average is $82.47 and its 200-day moving average is $84.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.92. Graco Inc. has a twelve month low of $72.06 and a twelve month high of $92.86.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $528.28 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $526.98 million. Graco had a net margin of 23.00% and a return on equity of 19.38%. Analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Monday, April 14th will be paid a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 14th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.35%. Graco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.01%.

Graco Company 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.