Cibc World Markets Corp Reduces Stock Position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Cibc World Markets Corp reduced its position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 22.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 7,645 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,211 shares during the period. Cibc World Markets Corp’s holdings in Graco were worth $644,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. boosted its holdings in shares of Graco by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. now owns 4,860 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $410,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. Albert D Mason Inc. lifted its holdings in Graco by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. now owns 27,923 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,354,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the period. Optas LLC lifted its holdings in Graco by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Optas LLC now owns 3,360 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $283,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its holdings in Graco by 39.1% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 484 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the period. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in Graco by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,782 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $235,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the period. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. 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 report on Thursday, December 19th. DA Davidson set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Graco in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of 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 issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $93.00.

Graco Stock Performance

GGG stock opened at $82.13 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.12, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $85.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $85.51. Graco Inc. has a 52-week low of $77.49 and a 52-week high of $94.48.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Monday, April 14th will be given a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 14th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.34%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.01%.

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.