Sit Investment Associates Inc. Acquires Shares of 950 Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Sit Investment Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 950 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $80,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of GGG. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN boosted its stake in Graco by 3.4% during the third quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 419,942 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,749,000 after buying an additional 13,876 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in shares of Graco by 32.0% during the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,545,846 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $130,298,000 after acquiring an additional 374,967 shares during the period. PineStone Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Graco by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,904,681 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $244,836,000 after acquiring an additional 76,184 shares during the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of Graco by 359.2% in 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 period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Graco by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,054,966 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $88,923,000 after purchasing an additional 19,545 shares during the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Graco Stock Performance

NYSE:GGG opened at $74.41 on Tuesday. Graco Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $72.06 and a fifty-two week high of $93.01. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $84.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $85.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.39, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.92.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its quarterly 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 return on equity of 19.38% and a net margin of 23.00%. Research analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 14th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Graco Company 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.