Swedbank AB Has $1.93 Million Position in Graco Inc. $GGG

Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 90.3% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 22,819 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,831 shares during the period. Swedbank AB’s holdings in Graco were worth $1,932,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GGG. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in Graco by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 21,277 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,745,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Graco by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 41,431 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,562,000 after buying an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Graco by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,723 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $234,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in shares of Graco by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,813 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $231,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the period. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Graco by 43.2% during the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 504 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Graco

In other Graco news, Director Andrea Helen Simon bought 1,240 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $80.53 per share, for a total transaction of $99,857.20. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 1,240 shares in the company, valued at $99,857.20. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on GGG shares. Wolfe Research cut Graco from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings cut Graco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Graco in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 target price on shares of Graco in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Graco from $96.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $94.25.

Graco Price Performance

Shares of GGG traded up $0.77 on Friday, hitting $73.96. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 825,655 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,269,923. The company has a market capitalization of $12.28 billion, a PE ratio of 24.09, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.93. Graco Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $72.51 and a fifty-two week high of $95.69. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $75.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.22.

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

Graco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.295 per share. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 20th. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.44%.

Graco 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.