Curbstone Financial Management increased its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 98.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,102 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,514 shares during the period. Curbstone Financial Management’s holdings in Graco were worth $656,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assetmark bought a new position in Graco during the third quarter worth about $0. Eagle Asset Management increased its position in Graco by 94.9% in the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management now owns 47,656 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,194,000 after buying an additional 23,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates bought a new position in Graco during the third quarter worth about $508,000.

Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) traded down 2.02% during midday trading on Monday, hitting $63.56. 730,321 shares of the stock were exchanged. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $69.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $70.29. Graco Inc. has a 12 month low of $63.05 and a 12 month high of $77.55. The company has a market cap of $3.55 billion and a PE ratio of 11.18.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 25th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $325.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $315.68 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.80 earnings per share. Graco’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post $3.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 14th. This is a boost from Graco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on GGG shares. Zacks Investment Research raised shares of Graco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $78.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. Sidoti raised shares of Graco from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 19th. Finally, SunTrust initiated coverage on shares of Graco in a research note on Tuesday, November 3rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.67.

In related news, VP Peter J. O’shea sold 3,000 shares of Graco stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.41, for a total transaction of $223,230.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 315 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,439.15. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Karen Park Gallivan sold 5,000 shares of Graco stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.00, for a total transaction of $365,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 9,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $680,871. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) is a manufacturing company. The Company designs, manufactures and markets equipment to pump, meter, mix and dispense a variety of fluids and coatings. Its equipment is used in the construction, automotive, industrial, mining, oil and natural gas, process, public works and other industries. The Company operates in three segments: Industrial, Contractor and Lubrication. The Industrial segment markets equipment and pre-engineered packages for moving and applying paints, coatings, sealants, adhesives and other fluids. The Contractor segment markets sprayers for architectural coatings for painting, corrosion control, texture and line striping. The Lubrication segment markets products to move and dispense lubricants for service garages, fleet service centers, automobile dealerships, the mining industry and industrial lubrication applications. Graco sells its products in North, Central and South America, Europe, Middle East and Africa, and Asia Pacific.

12 Month Chart for NYSE:GGG

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