CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Boosts Stock Position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 71.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 308,338 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 128,109 shares during the quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned approximately 0.18% of Graco worth $25,982,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Graco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GGG traded up $0.71 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $81.21. 372,017 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 817,890. Graco Inc. has a 12 month low of $72.06 and a 12 month high of $92.86. The company has a market cap of $13.65 billion, a PE ratio of 28.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $82.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $84.70.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.02. Graco had a return on equity of 19.38% and a net margin of 23.00%. The firm had revenue of $528.28 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $526.98 million. On average, analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be issued a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 14th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.35%. Graco's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Graco from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. DA Davidson set a $85.00 target price on Graco in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four 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 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.