DnB Asset Management AS Sells 357 Shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

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

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Graco during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Graco by 118.0% during the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. National Pension Service bought a new stake in Graco in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Graco in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its stake in Graco by 39.1% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 484 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the period. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on GGG. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Graco from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. DA Davidson set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Graco in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, December 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $93.00.

Graco Stock Performance

Shares of GGG opened at $83.55 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $84.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $85.65. Graco Inc. has a 52-week low of $77.49 and a 52-week high of $93.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.05 billion, a PE ratio of 29.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.83.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The industrial products company reported $0.64 earnings per share 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 predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 is Monday, April 14th. Graco’s payout ratio is presently 39.01%.

Graco Company 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.