Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Boosts Stock Position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 57,764 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 935 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Graco were worth $4,869,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GGG. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Graco during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in Graco during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. National Pension Service purchased a new stake in Graco in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Graco in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Graco in the 4th quarter valued at about $61,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on GGG. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target 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 price target 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 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $93.00.

Graco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GGG opened at $82.13 on Friday. Graco Inc. has a 1 year low of $77.49 and a 1 year high of $94.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.12, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $85.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $85.51.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last issued its earnings results 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%. Analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors 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 yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 14th. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.