Swiss National Bank Sells 24,800 Shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Swiss National Bank cut its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 477,200 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 24,800 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.28% of Graco worth $40,223,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Graco in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Graco during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. National Pension Service bought a new stake in shares of Graco during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Graco during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Graco during the 4th quarter worth about $61,000. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. DA Davidson set a $85.00 price target on shares of Graco in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Graco from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of Graco from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $105.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $93.00.

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Graco Stock Performance

Shares of Graco stock traded down $0.25 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $83.28. 732,447 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 728,316. The company has a market cap of $14.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.83. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $84.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $85.51. Graco Inc. has a 52 week low of $77.49 and a 52 week high of $94.77.

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 for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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, equities research analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.32%. Graco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.01%.

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.