Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Shares Bought by Prudential PLC

Prudential PLC lifted its position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 5.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 57,523 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,145 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Graco were worth $4,849,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. increased its stake in Graco by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. now owns 4,860 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $410,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. increased its position in shares of Graco by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. now owns 27,923 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,354,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Optas LLC increased its position in shares of Graco by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Optas LLC now owns 3,360 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $283,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its holdings in Graco by 39.1% in the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 484 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the period. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its position 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 valued at $1,226,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Graco Stock Down 5.6 %

NYSE:GGG opened at $75.70 on Friday. Graco Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.64 and a 52 week high of $93.01. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $84.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $85.57. The company has a market cap of $12.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.83.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last issued 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%. On average, analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

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