Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Shares Sold by Gamco Investors INC. ET AL

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lowered its stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 740,487 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 23,675 shares during the quarter. Graco comprises about 0.7% of Gamco Investors INC. ET AL’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL owned about 0.44% of Graco worth $62,416,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in GGG. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Graco by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,141,579 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,444,864,000 after acquiring an additional 183,335 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Graco by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,229,385 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $356,053,000 after acquiring an additional 77,093 shares during the period. PineStone Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Graco by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,904,681 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $244,836,000 after acquiring an additional 76,184 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Graco by 17.0% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,328,179 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $196,242,000 after purchasing an additional 337,437 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Graco in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $177,434,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Graco Stock Performance

Shares of GGG stock opened at $79.70 on Tuesday. Graco Inc. has a 1 year low of $72.06 and a 1 year high of $92.86. The business’s fifty day moving average is $83.55 and its 200-day moving average is $85.10. The stock has a market cap of $13.40 billion, a PE ratio of 28.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.92.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The industrial products company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by ($0.13). Graco had a return on equity of 19.38% and a net margin of 23.00%. Equities research analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be given a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 14th. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on GGG shares. DA Davidson set a $85.00 target price on Graco in a report on Friday, January 31st. BNP Paribas upgraded 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Graco from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Graco has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $93.00.

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.