Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Shares Sold by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank cut its position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 477,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 24,800 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.28% of Graco worth $40,223,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Graco during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Graco during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. National Pension Service purchased a new stake in shares of Graco during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Graco during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Graco during the 4th quarter valued at about $61,000. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Graco from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. DA Davidson set a $85.00 target price on Graco in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $93.00.

Graco Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE GGG opened at $83.96 on Monday. Graco Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $77.49 and a fifty-two week high of $94.77. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $84.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $85.51. The firm has a market cap of $14.23 billion, a PE ratio of 29.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.83.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 23.00% and a return on equity of 19.38%. On average, analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 14th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.31%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.01%.

Graco 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.