MetLife Investment Management LLC Has $8.02 Million Position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 9.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 95,154 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 7,872 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC owned 0.06% of Graco worth $8,021,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Graco during the fourth quarter worth approximately $177,434,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Graco by 26,738.4% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,841,916 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $155,255,000 after purchasing an additional 1,835,053 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Graco by 244.4% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,990,742 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $174,210,000 after purchasing an additional 1,412,704 shares during the period. Canoe Financial LP grew its holdings in Graco by 359.2% in the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 640,474 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $53,986,000 after buying an additional 501,003 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Madison Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Graco during the 4th quarter worth $38,199,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.88% of the company's stock.

Graco Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of GGG traded up $0.93 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $81.43. 1,232,411 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 817,844. Graco Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $72.06 and a fifty-two week high of $92.86. The company has a market cap of $13.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.92. The firm's fifty day moving average is $82.35 and its 200 day moving average is $84.67.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $528.28 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $526.98 million. Graco had a net margin of 23.00% and a return on equity of 19.38%. Analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current 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. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 14th. Graco's payout ratio is presently 39.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on GGG shares. DA Davidson set a $85.00 target price on shares of Graco in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Graco from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $93.00.

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.