Jackson Square Partners LLC Sells 61,368 Shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Jackson Square Partners LLC trimmed its stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 16.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 305,917 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 61,368 shares during the quarter. Graco comprises about 2.8% of Jackson Square Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Jackson Square Partners LLC owned 0.18% of Graco worth $25,786,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its holdings in Graco by 13.9% during the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 3,875 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $339,000 after buying an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. increased its holdings in Graco by 59.0% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 9,225 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $807,000 after acquiring an additional 3,422 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Graco by 93.5% during the third 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 last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in Graco by 10.3% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 12,800 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,120,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in shares of Graco by 194.0% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 220,661 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $19,339,000 after purchasing an additional 145,599 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on GGG shares. DA Davidson set a $85.00 price target on shares of Graco in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Graco from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded Graco from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Four equities 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 stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $93.00.

Graco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GGG opened at $83.86 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $85.04 and a 200 day moving average of $85.56. Graco Inc. has a 52-week low of $77.49 and a 52-week high of $94.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.10 billion, a PE ratio of 29.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.83.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The industrial products company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) 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, sell-side analysts forecast 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. Investors 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 dividend yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 14th. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.