3,728 Shares in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Purchased by Freestone Grove Partners LP

Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 3,728 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $314,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Graco by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,141,579 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,444,864,000 after purchasing an additional 183,335 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Graco by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,229,385 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $356,053,000 after acquiring an additional 77,093 shares in the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Graco by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,904,681 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $244,836,000 after purchasing an additional 76,184 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Graco by 17.0% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,328,179 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $196,242,000 after purchasing an additional 337,437 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Graco in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $177,434,000. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, DA Davidson set a $85.00 price target on Graco in a report on Friday, January 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Graco has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $93.00.

Graco Stock Performance

NYSE:GGG traded up $0.48 on Wednesday, hitting $82.08. The stock had a trading volume of 659,596 shares, compared to its average volume of 814,661. Graco Inc. has a 1 year low of $72.06 and a 1 year high of $92.86. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $81.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $84.45. The stock has a market cap of $13.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.09.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.02. Graco had a return on equity of 19.38% and a net margin of 23.00%. The business had revenue of $528.28 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $526.98 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.65 earnings per share. Graco's quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 14th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.34%. Graco's payout ratio is currently 38.87%.

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.