Franklin Resources Inc. Grows Stock Position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 12.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 135,091 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,383 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.08% of Graco worth $11,387,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Graco in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $177,434,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Graco by 244.4% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,990,742 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $174,210,000 after acquiring an additional 1,412,704 shares in the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP lifted its holdings in Graco by 359.2% in the fourth quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 640,474 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $53,986,000 after acquiring an additional 501,003 shares during the period. Madison Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Graco during the 4th quarter worth $38,199,000. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its stake in shares of Graco by 32.0% during the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,545,846 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $130,298,000 after purchasing an additional 374,967 shares during the period. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Graco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GGG opened at $73.92 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $84.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $85.35. The company has a market capitalization of $12.43 billion, a PE ratio of 26.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.92. Graco Inc. has a 12-month low of $72.06 and a 12-month high of $93.01.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last posted 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, analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Monday, April 14th will be given a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 14th. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.