Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Shares Acquired by Allianz Asset Management GmbH

Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 32.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,545,846 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 374,967 shares during the quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Graco were worth $130,298,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Graco by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,458,988 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $652,736,000 after acquiring an additional 443,141 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Graco by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,152,292 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $362,808,000 after acquiring an additional 188,579 shares during the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Graco by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,904,681 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $244,836,000 after acquiring an additional 76,184 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Graco by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,328,179 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $196,242,000 after acquiring an additional 337,437 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Graco by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,111,152 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $97,237,000 after acquiring an additional 43,923 shares during the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Graco Price Performance

Shares of Graco stock opened at $87.28 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $84.65 and a 200 day moving average of $84.89. Graco Inc. has a 12 month low of $77.49 and a 12 month high of $94.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.84.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The industrial products company reported $0.64 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Monday, April 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 14th. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on GGG. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Graco from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised Graco from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $91.50.

Insider Activity at Graco

In other news, EVP Kathryn L. Schoenrock sold 1,527 shares of Graco stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.30, for a total value of $137,888.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $575,572.20. This trade represents a 19.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Caroline M. Chambers sold 8,280 shares of Graco stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.57, for a total value of $749,919.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 57,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,217,918.84. The trade was a 12.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.63% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.