BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Takes Position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S purchased a new stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 8,164 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $688,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. grew its position in shares of Graco by 2.5% during 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 in the last quarter. 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 worth $2,354,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the period. 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 worth $283,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its holdings in Graco by 39.1% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its position in shares of Graco by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 14,548 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,226,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the period. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Graco Price Performance

NYSE:GGG traded down $0.83 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $80.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 239,012 shares, compared to its average volume of 815,417. The company has a market capitalization of $13.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.55, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.92. Graco Inc. has a twelve month low of $72.06 and a twelve month high of $92.86. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $82.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $84.63.

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

Graco Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 14th. Graco's payout ratio is 38.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on GGG. DA Davidson set a $85.00 price target on Graco in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Graco from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $93.00.

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.