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

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

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. grew its stake in shares of Graco by 2.5% in the fourth 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. grew its position in shares of Graco by 0.4% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Optas LLC increased its stake in shares of Graco by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Optas LLC now owns 3,360 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $283,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its holdings in shares of Graco by 39.1% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 484 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its stake in Graco by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 14,548 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,226,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Graco Stock Down 5.6 %

Shares of NYSE GGG opened at $75.70 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $12.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.84, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.83. Graco Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.64 and a twelve month high of $93.01. The company has a 50 day moving average of $84.62 and a 200 day moving average of $85.56.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last posted its quarterly 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.275 per share. 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 payout ratio is presently 39.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GGG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Graco from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. DA Davidson set a $85.00 price objective on Graco in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, BNP Paribas raised Graco from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Graco has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.