Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Shares Bought by Allianz Asset Management GmbH

Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 32.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,545,846 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 374,967 shares during the quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH owned about 0.92% of Graco worth $130,298,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN boosted its position in Graco by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 419,942 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,749,000 after purchasing an additional 13,876 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its position in Graco by 254.8% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 195,533 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $17,111,000 after purchasing an additional 140,417 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its position in Graco by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 328,306 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,730,000 after purchasing an additional 8,485 shares in the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP boosted its position in Graco by 359.2% in the 4th 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. Finally, PineStone Asset Management Inc. boosted its position 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 worth $244,836,000 after purchasing an additional 76,184 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Graco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GGG opened at $87.28 on Friday. Graco Inc. has a 1 year low of $77.49 and a 1 year high of $94.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.84. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $84.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $84.89.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The industrial products company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by ($0.13). Graco had a net margin of 23.00% and a return on equity of 19.38%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be given a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 14th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.26%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GGG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped 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. BNP Paribas upgraded Graco from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $91.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Graco

In other Graco news, EVP Kathryn L. Schoenrock sold 1,527 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.30, for a total value of $137,888.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $575,572.20. This trade represents a 19.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Caroline M. Chambers sold 8,280 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.57, for a total value of $749,919.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 57,612 shares in the company, valued at $5,217,918.84. The trade was a 12.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.63% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.