Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Position Boosted by Rhumbline Advisers

Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 528,530 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 4,576 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned about 0.31% of Graco worth $44,550,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GGG. Creative Planning lifted its position in Graco by 5.9% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 81,543 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $7,136,000 after buying an additional 4,514 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Graco by 5.7% during the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 13,129 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,149,000 after buying an additional 706 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Graco by 165.1% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,829 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $160,000 after buying an additional 1,139 shares during the period. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Graco by 20.6% during the third quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,563 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $312,000 after buying an additional 609 shares during the period. Finally, Vest Financial LLC lifted its position in Graco by 27.2% during the third quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 17,696 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,549,000 after buying an additional 3,779 shares during the period. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Graco from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded Graco from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $105.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Graco has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $91.50.

Graco Trading Up 0.0 %

NYSE GGG traded up $0.02 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $87.18. 507,955 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 776,355. Graco Inc. has a 12 month low of $77.49 and a 12 month high of $94.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.72 billion, a PE ratio of 30.91, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a 50 day moving average of $84.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $84.86.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The industrial products company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by ($0.13). Graco had a return on equity of 19.38% and a net margin of 23.00%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

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 issued a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 14th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.26%. Graco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Graco news, insider Caroline M. Chambers sold 8,280 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.57, for a total transaction of $749,919.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 57,612 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,217,918.84. This trade represents a 12.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathryn L. Schoenrock sold 1,527 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.30, for a total transaction of $137,888.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $575,572.20. The trade was a 19.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.63% of the company's stock.

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.