Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Shares Bought by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 34.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 975,960 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 247,589 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Graco were worth $82,207,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Graco during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Graco by 118.0% in the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. National Pension Service bought a new position in Graco in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Graco during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group raised its position in shares of Graco by 39.1% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 484 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Graco Stock Down 5.6 %

Shares of NYSE GGG opened at $75.70 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $84.62 and a 200-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 P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.83. Graco Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.64 and a 12 month high of $93.01.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The industrial products company reported $0.64 earnings per share (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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

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