Meeder Asset Management Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Meeder Asset Management Inc. lessened its position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 83.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,366 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 47,030 shares during the quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Graco were worth $789,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN increased its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 13,876 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 374,967 shares in the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised 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 worth $244,836,000 after purchasing an additional 76,184 shares during the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP lifted 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 valued at $53,986,000 after buying an additional 501,003 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Graco by 1.9% during 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 buying an additional 19,545 shares during the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Graco Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of Graco stock opened at $83.55 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $14.05 billion, a PE ratio of 29.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.83. Graco Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $77.49 and a fifty-two week high of $93.25. The business’s fifty day moving average is $84.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $85.65.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The industrial products company reported $0.64 earnings per share 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Monday, April 14th will be given 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 presently 39.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on GGG. DA Davidson set a $85.00 price target on Graco in a report on Friday, January 31st. 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. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Graco from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.