Russell Investments Group Ltd. Buys 247,589 Shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 34.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 975,960 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 247,589 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.58% of Graco worth $82,207,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Graco during the 4th quarter valued at about $177,434,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Graco by 26,738.4% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,841,916 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $155,255,000 after buying an additional 1,835,053 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Graco by 244.4% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,990,742 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $174,210,000 after purchasing an additional 1,412,704 shares during the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP raised its holdings in Graco by 359.2% in the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 640,474 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $53,986,000 after acquiring an additional 501,003 shares during the period. Finally, Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Graco during the 4th quarter worth about $38,199,000. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Graco from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Graco from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $105.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $85.00 price objective 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 given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $93.00.

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Graco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GGG traded up $1.94 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $79.86. 314,854 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 801,776. Graco Inc. has a 1-year low of $72.06 and a 1-year high of $92.86. The company has a market cap of $13.43 billion, a PE ratio of 28.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.92. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $83.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $85.21.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The industrial products company reported $0.64 earnings per share (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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 14th. Graco's payout ratio is presently 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.