Norges Bank Makes New $161.95 Million Investment in Graco Inc. $GGG

Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,975,707 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $161,949,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.19% of Graco at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Graco by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 41,431 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,562,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of Graco by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,755 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $149,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Graco by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,849 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $242,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in shares of Graco by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,874 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $159,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Viawealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Graco by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Viawealth LLC now owns 53,195 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,519,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Graco Stock Down 0.2%

Graco stock opened at $73.88 on Thursday. Graco Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.48 and a 52 week high of $95.69. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $81.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $84.58. The stock has a market cap of $12.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.93.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.75 by ($0.09). Graco had a return on equity of 18.66% and a net margin of 22.96%.The firm had revenue of $540.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $561.35 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.70 EPS. Graco’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 3.1 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Graco

In other news, Director Andrea Helen Simon bought 1,240 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $80.53 per share, with a total value of $99,857.20. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,240 shares in the company, valued at $99,857.20. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on GGG shares. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Graco from $96.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Graco from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Graco in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Graco in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Graco currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $94.25.

Graco Company Profile

Graco Inc is a leading manufacturer of fluid handling systems and components, headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded in 1926, the company has built a reputation for innovation in spray finishing, lubrication, and fluid management technologies. Graco’s solutions are designed to address the needs of paint and coatings applicators, general industry, and process fluids in a variety of end markets.

The company’s product portfolio includes airless and air-assisted spray equipment, pumps for oil and gas applications, industrial lubrication systems, and automated dispensing equipment.