William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 58.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 397,303 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 146,042 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.24% of Graco worth $33,489,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in 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 purchasing 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 purchasing an additional 501,003 shares during the last quarter. Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Graco during the 4th quarter worth about $38,199,000. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Graco by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,458,988 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $652,736,000 after acquiring an additional 443,141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Graco by 142.9% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 652,048 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $57,061,000 after acquiring an additional 383,599 shares during the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Graco Price Performance
Shares of GGG traded down $1.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $82.13. 2,288,403 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 734,790. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $85.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $85.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.81 billion, a PE ratio of 29.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.83. Graco Inc. has a 52-week low of $77.49 and a 52-week high of $94.69.
Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The industrial products company reported $0.64 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current year.
Graco Dividend Announcement
The company 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 dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 14th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.34%. Graco's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.01%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
GGG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BNP Paribas raised Graco from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $105.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. DA Davidson set a $85.00 target price on shares of Graco in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $93.00.
View Our Latest Analysis on GGG
About Graco
(
Free Report)
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.
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