Stifel Financial Corp Raises Holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 268,027 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 3,819 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp owned 0.16% of Graco worth $22,593,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Graco by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,141,579 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,444,864,000 after purchasing an additional 183,335 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 worth $356,053,000 after acquiring an additional 77,093 shares during the period. PineStone Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Graco by 2.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Graco by 17.0% during 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 acquiring an additional 337,437 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Graco during the 4th quarter worth $177,434,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.88% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on GGG shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Graco from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. DA Davidson set a $85.00 target price on shares of Graco in a research report 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. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $93.00.

Graco Stock Performance

NYSE GGG traded down $0.23 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $81.27. 143,595 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 816,308. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.58 billion, a PE ratio of 28.82, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.92. Graco Inc. has a 1-year low of $72.06 and a 1-year high of $92.86. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $82.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $84.61.

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

Graco Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 is Monday, April 14th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.35%. Graco's payout ratio is currently 38.87%.

Graco Company 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.