Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Shares Acquired by Sei Investments Co.

Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 16.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 241,962 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 34,794 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Graco were worth $20,395,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of GGG. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Graco by 93.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 13,380 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,171,000 after purchasing an additional 6,464 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in Graco by 10.3% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 12,800 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,120,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in Graco by 194.0% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 220,661 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $19,339,000 after buying an additional 145,599 shares during the last quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd purchased a new stake in Graco in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,850,000. Finally, FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Graco by 33.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 32,418 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,837,000 after acquiring an additional 8,166 shares during the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Graco Price Performance

NYSE GGG opened at $84.59 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.00, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.83. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $85.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $85.59. Graco Inc. has a 12 month low of $77.49 and a 12 month high of $94.47.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The industrial products company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.77 by ($0.13). Graco had a return on equity of 19.38% and a net margin of 23.00%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current 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 $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 1.30%. Graco’s payout ratio is presently 39.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.