iA Global Asset Management Inc. Sells 842 Shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

iA Global Asset Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 37.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,410 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 842 shares during the quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Graco were worth $119,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Graco in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Graco in the third quarter valued at $30,000. National Pension Service purchased a new stake in shares of Graco in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Graco in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Graco in the fourth quarter valued at $61,000. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Graco Trading Down 1.4 %

NYSE GGG opened at $82.13 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $85.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $85.51. The stock has a market cap of $13.81 billion, a PE ratio of 29.12, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.83. Graco Inc. has a 12 month low of $77.49 and a 12 month high of $94.48.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last posted its quarterly 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 return on equity of 19.38% and a net margin of 23.00%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

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 issued a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 14th. Graco’s payout ratio is 39.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on GGG. DA Davidson set a $85.00 target price on shares of Graco in a research note on Friday, January 31st. BNP Paribas raised shares of Graco from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Graco from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $93.00.

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.