Geode Capital Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,229,385 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 77,093 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 2.50% of Graco worth $356,053,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN grew its position in shares of Graco by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 419,942 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,749,000 after purchasing an additional 13,876 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its stake in Graco by 32.0% during the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,545,846 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $130,298,000 after buying an additional 374,967 shares during the period. PineStone Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Graco by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,904,681 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $244,836,000 after buying an additional 76,184 shares in the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP increased its stake in Graco by 359.2% in the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 640,474 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $53,986,000 after acquiring an additional 501,003 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Graco by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,054,966 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $88,923,000 after acquiring an additional 19,545 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Graco Price Performance

Shares of GGG opened at $75.70 on Friday. Graco Inc. has a 1 year low of $75.64 and a 1 year high of $93.01. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $84.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $85.56. The firm has a market cap of $12.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.83.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released 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 anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be paid a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 14th. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on GGG shares. BNP Paribas raised Graco from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. DA Davidson set a $85.00 target price on shares of Graco in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Graco from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.