Raymond James Financial Inc. Makes New Investment in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 374,340 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $31,553,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.22% of Graco as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Graco during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Graco during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. National Pension Service purchased a new stake in shares of Graco during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Graco in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Graco in the 4th quarter valued at about $61,000. 93.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Graco Stock Performance

NYSE GGG traded up $1.22 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $83.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 482,801 shares, compared to its average volume of 734,169. The company's 50-day moving average is $84.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $85.44. Graco Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $77.49 and a fifty-two week high of $94.77. The stock has a market cap of $14.23 billion, a PE ratio of 29.77, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.83.

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Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 net margin of 23.00% and a return on equity of 19.38%. Equities analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Monday, April 14th will be issued a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 14th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. Graco's payout ratio is 39.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.