Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. Has $7.39 Million Stock Holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 5.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 87,627 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 4,136 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. owned about 0.05% of Graco worth $7,386,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in GGG. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. lifted its position in shares of Graco by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. now owns 4,860 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $410,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the period. Albert D Mason Inc. lifted its position in shares of Graco by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. now owns 27,923 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,354,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the period. Optas LLC lifted its position in shares of Graco by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Optas LLC now owns 3,360 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $283,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its position in shares of Graco by 39.1% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 484 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the period. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in shares of Graco by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,782 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $235,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the period. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Graco from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. DA Davidson set a $85.00 price target on shares of Graco in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, 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 note on Thursday, December 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $93.00.

Graco Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of GGG stock opened at $83.28 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.00 billion, a PE ratio of 29.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $84.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $85.49. Graco Inc. has a 12 month low of $77.49 and a 12 month high of $94.77.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last announced 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.32%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.