Norges Bank Makes New Investment in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 2,105,044 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $177,434,000.

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

Graco Price Performance

Shares of GGG stock opened at $83.35 on Monday. Graco Inc. has a one year low of $77.49 and a one year high of $93.25. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $85.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $85.64. The company has a market capitalization of $14.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.56, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.83.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The industrial products company reported $0.64 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.