Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC Trims Stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC cut its position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,839,035 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 72,023 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC owned 2.87% of Graco worth $407,882,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. grew its position in Graco by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. now owns 4,860 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $410,000 after buying an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. increased its holdings in Graco by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. now owns 27,923 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,354,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. Optas LLC boosted its holdings in Graco by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Optas LLC now owns 3,360 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $283,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its stake in Graco by 39.1% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 484 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted 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 purchasing an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company's stock.

Graco Stock Performance

Shares of Graco stock traded up $0.77 during trading on Friday, hitting $81.27. The company's stock had a trading volume of 524,533 shares, compared to its average volume of 818,511. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $82.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $84.70. The company has a market capitalization of $13.66 billion, a PE ratio of 28.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.92. Graco Inc. has a 52 week low of $72.06 and a 52 week high of $92.86.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.70 earnings per share 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 analysts' expectations of $526.98 million. As a group, analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current 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 issued a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 14th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.35%. Graco's payout ratio is 39.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on GGG. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Graco from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. DA Davidson set a $85.00 price target on shares of Graco in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus 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.