Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. Has $1.42 Million Position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. cut its holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 31.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,878 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 7,714 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.'s holdings in Graco were worth $1,423,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN boosted its stake in shares of Graco by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 419,942 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $36,749,000 after acquiring an additional 13,876 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Graco by 254.8% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 195,533 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $17,111,000 after purchasing an additional 140,417 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its position in Graco by 2.7% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 328,306 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $28,730,000 after purchasing an additional 8,485 shares during the period. Canoe Financial LP grew its holdings in Graco by 359.2% during the fourth quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 640,474 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $53,986,000 after purchasing an additional 501,003 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Graco by 25.8% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 31,991 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,800,000 after purchasing an additional 6,571 shares during the period. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GGG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BNP Paribas raised shares of Graco from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $105.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Graco from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $91.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Peter J. O'shea sold 18,075 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $1,604,337.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 14,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,288,440.16. The trade was a 55.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Kathryn L. Schoenrock sold 1,527 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.30, for a total transaction of $137,888.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,374 shares of the company's stock, valued at $575,572.20. This trade represents a 19.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 27,882 shares of company stock worth $2,492,145. Corporate insiders own 2.63% of the company's stock.

Graco Stock Up 0.8 %

Graco stock traded up $0.64 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $84.88. The company had a trading volume of 1,000,669 shares, compared to its average volume of 817,487. The company has a 50 day moving average of $85.32 and a 200-day moving average of $84.70. Graco Inc. has a 52 week low of $77.49 and a 52 week high of $94.77. The firm has a market cap of $14.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.10, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.84.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The industrial products company reported $0.64 earnings per share (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%. On average, analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 20th were issued a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.30%. This is an increase from Graco's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. Graco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.01%.

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.