Xponance Inc. Buys 2,107 Shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Xponance Inc. lifted its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 8.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 28,109 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,107 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Graco were worth $2,369,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of GGG. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Graco during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Graco during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. National Pension Service purchased a new position in Graco during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Graco in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Graco in the 4th quarter worth approximately $61,000. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Graco Stock Performance

Shares of GGG stock opened at $82.13 on Friday. Graco Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $77.49 and a fifty-two week high of $94.69. 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $85.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $85.48.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released 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 return on equity of 19.38% and a net margin of 23.00%. As a group, equities analysts forecast 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 given a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 14th. Graco’s payout ratio is 39.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BNP Paribas raised shares of Graco from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Graco from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, DA Davidson set a $85.00 price objective on Graco in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus 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.