DnB Asset Management AS Has $3.67 Million Stock Holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

DnB Asset Management AS reduced its holdings in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 43,485 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 357 shares during the period. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Graco were worth $3,665,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Graco by 93.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 13,380 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,171,000 after purchasing an additional 6,464 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Graco by 33.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 32,418 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,837,000 after buying an additional 8,166 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Graco in the 3rd quarter valued at $299,000. Glenmede Trust Co. NA grew its position in Graco by 5.4% in the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 10,561 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $924,000 after acquiring an additional 543 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Graco by 4.1% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,111,152 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $97,237,000 after acquiring an additional 43,923 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GGG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. 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 research note on Thursday, December 19th. DA Davidson set a $85.00 price target on shares of Graco in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $93.00.

Graco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GGG opened at $83.55 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $84.99 and a 200-day moving average of $85.65. The firm has a market cap of $14.05 billion, a PE ratio of 29.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.83. Graco Inc. has a twelve month low of $77.49 and a twelve month high of $93.25.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The industrial products company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 14th. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is 39.01%.

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.