National Bank of Canada FI Has $6.10 Million Stock Holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

National Bank of Canada FI trimmed its stake in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 29.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 72,396 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 29,699 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Graco were worth $6,102,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in GGG. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. raised its holdings in 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 worth $410,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. increased its position in shares of Graco by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. now owns 27,923 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,354,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the period. Optas LLC raised its stake in Graco by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Optas LLC now owns 3,360 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $283,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its holdings in Graco by 39.1% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 484 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the period. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted its position in Graco by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 14,548 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,226,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GGG. 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 report on Friday, January 3rd. BNP Paribas upgraded Graco from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $85.00 price target on Graco in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $93.00.

Graco Price Performance

Shares of GGG opened at $75.70 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $84.62 and a 200-day moving average of $85.58. Graco Inc. has a one year low of $75.64 and a one year high of $93.01. The company has a market cap of $12.73 billion, a PE ratio of 26.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.92.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its quarterly earnings data 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%. Analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS 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 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 1.45%. Graco’s payout ratio is 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.