Advisory Services Network LLC Sells 654 Shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Advisory Services Network LLC trimmed its position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 36,282 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 654 shares during the quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC’s holdings in Graco were worth $3,058,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of GGG. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in shares of Graco by 32.0% in the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,545,846 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $130,298,000 after buying an additional 374,967 shares during the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Graco by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,904,681 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $244,836,000 after acquiring an additional 76,184 shares during the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP lifted its position in shares of Graco by 359.2% during the fourth quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 640,474 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $53,986,000 after purchasing an additional 501,003 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Graco by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,054,966 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $88,923,000 after purchasing an additional 19,545 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of Graco by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 184,103 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $15,518,000 after purchasing an additional 6,041 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. BNP Paribas raised Graco from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. DA Davidson set a $85.00 price target on Graco in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Graco from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Graco presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $93.00.

Graco Stock Performance

GGG opened at $78.04 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $83.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $85.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.12 billion, a PE ratio of 27.67, 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) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The industrial products company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by ($0.13). Graco had a return on equity of 19.38% and a net margin of 23.00%. Equities analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Monday, April 14th will be given a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 14th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is 39.01%.

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.