Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC Sells 72,023 Shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC trimmed its stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,839,035 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 72,023 shares during the quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC owned approximately 2.87% of Graco worth $407,882,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on GGG shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target 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 price target on shares of Graco in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $93.00.

Graco Price Performance

GGG traded down $0.14 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $78.85. 1,711,471 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 815,487. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.92. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $82.58 and a 200 day moving average of $84.73. Graco Inc. has a 12-month low of $72.06 and a 12-month high of $92.86.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

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