Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Increases Stock Position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 26,738.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,841,916 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,835,053 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned approximately 1.09% of Graco worth $155,255,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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Graco Trading Down 2.9 %

Shares of GGG stock traded down $2.30 on Thursday, hitting $76.70. 348,541 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 798,381. Graco Inc. has a one year low of $72.06 and a one year high of $92.86. The firm's 50 day moving average is $83.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $85.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.90 billion, a PE ratio of 27.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.92.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The industrial products company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current 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 paid 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 1.43%. Graco's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.