Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Shares Acquired by Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lifted its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 229.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,131 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 11,236 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board's holdings in Graco were worth $1,360,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GGG. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its holdings in shares of Graco by 32.0% during the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,545,846 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $130,298,000 after buying an additional 374,967 shares in the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Graco by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,904,681 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $244,836,000 after acquiring an additional 76,184 shares in the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP raised 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 acquiring an additional 501,003 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Graco by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,054,966 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $88,923,000 after purchasing an additional 19,545 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Graco by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 184,103 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $15,518,000 after purchasing an additional 6,041 shares during the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Graco Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of GGG traded up $0.17 during trading on Friday, reaching $78.59. 658,830 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 810,939. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $83.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $84.90. Graco Inc. has a twelve month low of $72.06 and a twelve month high of $92.86. The stock has a market cap of $13.21 billion, a PE ratio of 27.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.92.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last announced 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, equities research analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be paid a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 14th. Graco's payout ratio is presently 39.01%.

Graco Company 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.