2,940 Shares in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Acquired by Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s.

Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. bought a new position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 2,940 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $248,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of GGG. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Graco in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Graco in the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. National Pension Service acquired a new stake in shares of Graco in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Graco in the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Graco in the fourth quarter worth approximately $61,000. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Graco Stock Performance

NYSE GGG opened at $87.60 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.06, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.83. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $84.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $85.42. Graco Inc. has a one year low of $77.49 and a one year high of $94.77.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be paid 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 is currently 39.01%.

About Graco

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.