First Manhattan CO. LLC. Reduces Stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

First Manhattan CO. LLC. cut its holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 323,709 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 3,514 shares during the quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. owned 0.19% of Graco worth $27,285,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in shares of Graco by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 393,396 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $33,159,000 after buying an additional 31,860 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Graco by 30.6% in the fourth quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,630 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $475,000 after acquiring an additional 1,320 shares during the last quarter. Bridgefront Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Graco in the fourth quarter worth approximately $321,000. BLI Banque de Luxembourg Investments acquired a new stake in shares of Graco in the fourth quarter worth approximately $14,327,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Graco by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 673,240 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $56,740,000 after acquiring an additional 10,041 shares during the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Graco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GGG traded down $0.48 during trading on Friday, reaching $83.28. The stock had a trading volume of 587,697 shares, compared to its average volume of 816,290. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $81.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $84.46. The stock has a market cap of $13.92 billion, a PE ratio of 29.53, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.09. Graco Inc. has a 1-year low of $72.06 and a 1-year high of $92.86.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $528.28 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $526.98 million. Graco had a return on equity of 19.38% and a net margin of 23.00%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.65 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 14th were issued a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 14th. Graco's payout ratio is currently 38.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, DA Davidson set a $85.00 price target on Graco in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $93.00.

Graco 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.