Norges Bank Invests $177.43 Million in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Norges Bank bought a new stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 2,105,044 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $177,434,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.25% of Graco as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Graco by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,141,579 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,444,864,000 after buying an additional 183,335 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Graco by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,458,988 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $652,736,000 after acquiring an additional 443,141 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Graco by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,152,292 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $362,808,000 after acquiring an additional 188,579 shares in the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Graco by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,904,681 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $244,836,000 after purchasing an additional 76,184 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Graco by 17.0% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,328,179 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $196,242,000 after purchasing an additional 337,437 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company's stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Graco Stock Performance

Shares of Graco stock traded down $4.52 during trading on Friday, hitting $75.70. 2,023,298 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 788,100. Graco Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.66 and a 12 month high of $93.01. The stock's fifty day moving average is $84.62 and its 200 day moving average is $85.56. The stock has a market cap of $12.73 billion, a PE ratio of 26.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.83.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last posted 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 14th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. Graco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.