Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. cut its position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 8.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 459,338 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 44,241 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. owned 0.27% of Graco worth $38,718,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Graco by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,141,579 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,444,864,000 after purchasing an additional 183,335 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Graco by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,229,385 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $356,053,000 after buying an additional 77,093 shares during the period. 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 valued at $244,836,000 after buying an additional 76,184 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Graco by 17.0% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,328,179 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $196,242,000 after buying an additional 337,437 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Graco in the 4th quarter valued at about $177,434,000. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Graco Stock Down 0.2 %

GGG traded down $0.14 on Wednesday, hitting $78.85. The company had a trading volume of 1,711,471 shares, compared to its average volume of 815,487. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $82.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $84.73. Graco Inc. has a 12-month low of $72.06 and a 12-month high of $92.86. The company has a market cap of $13.26 billion, a PE ratio of 27.96, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.92.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.02. Graco had a net margin of 23.00% and a return on equity of 19.38%. On average, analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 14th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. Graco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of 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 price objective on Graco in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Graco currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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.