Sterling Capital Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 55.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,914 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 3,538 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Graco were worth $836,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. MML Investors Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Graco by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 7,476 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $654,000 after acquiring an additional 386 shares in the last quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Graco by 2.9% during the third quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,183 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $979,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Graco by 7.3% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 12,794 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,165,000 after purchasing an additional 865 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Graco by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 47,435 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,151,000 after purchasing an additional 401 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Graco by 37.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 119,708 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,413,000 after buying an additional 32,475 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Graco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GGG opened at $78.53 on Thursday. Graco Inc. has a 1 year low of $72.06 and a 1 year high of $92.86. The company has a market cap of $13.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.85, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.92. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $83.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $85.02.

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 the consensus estimate 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 anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.40%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on GGG. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Graco from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. DA Davidson set a $85.00 price target on shares of Graco in a research note 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 objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Graco currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $93.00.

Graco 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.