Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Shares Bought by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 12.9% 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 135,091 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 15,383 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.08% of Graco worth $11,387,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN raised its position in shares of Graco by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 419,942 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $36,749,000 after acquiring an additional 13,876 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its position in Graco by 32.0% in the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,545,846 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $130,298,000 after acquiring an additional 374,967 shares during the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Graco by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,904,681 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $244,836,000 after purchasing an additional 76,184 shares during the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of Graco by 359.2% in the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 640,474 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $53,986,000 after purchasing an additional 501,003 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Graco by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,054,966 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $88,923,000 after purchasing an additional 19,545 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.88% of the company's stock.

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Graco Price Performance

Shares of GGG stock traded up $0.80 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $80.24. The stock had a trading volume of 50,563 shares, compared to its average volume of 802,624. Graco Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $72.06 and a fifty-two week high of $92.86. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $83.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $85.16. The firm has a market cap of $13.49 billion, a PE ratio of 28.46, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.92.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last posted 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%. On average, analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Monday, April 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 14th. Graco's payout ratio is 39.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Graco from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. DA Davidson set a $85.00 target price on shares of Graco in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded Graco from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $105.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $93.00.

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.