Gitterman Wealth Management LLC Makes New Investment in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Gitterman Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 2,456 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Graco in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Graco during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. National Pension Service acquired a new stake in shares of Graco in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Graco during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Graco in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $61,000. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. DA Davidson set a $85.00 price target on Graco in a report on Friday, January 31st. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Graco from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $93.00.

Graco Price Performance

Shares of GGG opened at $83.96 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $14.23 billion, a PE ratio of 29.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.83. Graco Inc. has a one year low of $77.49 and a one year high of $94.77. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $84.87 and a 200-day moving average of $85.48.

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 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%. Analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 14th. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.01%.

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.