Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Takes $4.72 Million Position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 55,993 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $4,719,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Graco in the fourth quarter worth $177,434,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,835,053 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Graco by 244.4% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,990,742 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $174,210,000 after buying an additional 1,412,704 shares in the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP lifted its position in shares of Graco by 359.2% during the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 640,474 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $53,986,000 after buying an additional 501,003 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Graco in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,199,000. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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Graco Stock Performance

GGG traded up $0.94 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $80.38. 81,574 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 802,728. The company has a market cap of $13.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.92. Graco Inc. has a one year low of $72.06 and a one year high of $92.86. The company's fifty day moving average price is $83.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $85.16.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 19.38% and a net margin of 23.00%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be given a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 14th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.37%. Graco's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.