Natixis Advisors LLC Buys 21,129 Shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 10.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 216,662 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 21,129 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned about 0.13% of Graco worth $18,262,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. lifted its position in shares of Graco by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. now owns 4,860 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $410,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. Albert D Mason Inc. increased its stake in Graco by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. now owns 27,923 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,354,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Optas LLC increased its stake in Graco by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Optas LLC now owns 3,360 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $283,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its stake in Graco by 39.1% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 484 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of Graco by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,782 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $235,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Graco Stock Performance

NYSE:GGG opened at $83.47 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $14.03 billion, a PE ratio of 29.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.83. 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 $84.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $85.52.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released 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%. Research analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 14th. Graco’s payout ratio is 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.