KBC Group NV Raises Stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

KBC Group NV increased its stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 14.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 36,680 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 4,689 shares during the period. KBC Group NV's holdings in Graco were worth $3,092,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Graco by 114.0% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,914 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $343,000 after purchasing an additional 2,085 shares during the period. Marshall Financial Group LLC raised its position in Graco by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC now owns 12,583 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,061,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Running Oak Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Graco by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Running Oak Capital LLC now owns 156,099 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $13,158,000 after buying an additional 8,905 shares during the period. Grimes & Company Inc. grew its position in shares of Graco by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 137,697 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $11,606,000 after buying an additional 3,909 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Graco by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 14,322 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,207,000 after buying an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on GGG. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada upped 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 report on Thursday, December 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $91.50.

Insider Activity at Graco

In other Graco news, insider Peter J. O'shea sold 18,075 shares of Graco stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total transaction of $1,604,337.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 14,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,288,440.16. The trade was a 55.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,216 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.31, for a total value of $284,004.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 27,246 shares in the company, valued at $2,406,094.26. This represents a 10.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 31,098 shares of company stock valued at $2,776,150 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.63% of the company's stock.

Graco Stock Performance

GGG stock opened at $84.15 on Friday. Graco Inc. has a one year low of $77.49 and a one year high of $94.77. The firm has a market cap of $14.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.84, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.84. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $86.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $84.66.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The industrial products company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.77 by ($0.13). Graco had a return on equity of 19.38% and a net margin of 23.00%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Investors of record on Monday, January 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. This is an increase from Graco's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. Graco's payout ratio is 39.01%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding GGG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.