Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Shares Sold by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. lessened its stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 22.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 382,534 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 112,376 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Graco were worth $32,244,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Graco in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Graco during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Graco by 118.0% in the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service acquired a new stake in shares of Graco in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Graco during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Graco Price Performance

NYSE:GGG opened at $83.35 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $14.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.83. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $85.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $85.59. Graco Inc. has a 1-year low of $77.49 and a 1-year high of $93.25.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The industrial products company reported $0.64 earnings per share 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%. As a group, analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be given a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 14th. Graco’s payout ratio is 39.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GGG has been the subject of several research reports. DA Davidson set a $85.00 price target on shares of Graco in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Graco from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, BNP Paribas raised 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $93.00.

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.