Graco Inc. $GGG Stake Trimmed by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lessened its stake in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,402,734 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 27,993 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in Graco were worth $114,982,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in Graco by 38.4% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 524,219 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,970,000 after purchasing an additional 145,328 shares during the period. AXQ Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Graco in the fourth quarter valued at $880,000. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Graco by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. now owns 123,795 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,147,000 after buying an additional 490 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in shares of Graco by 30.7% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 141,738 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $11,618,000 after buying an additional 33,269 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Graco during the fourth quarter valued at $161,949,000. 93.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Graco

In other Graco news, Director Andrea Helen Simon acquired 1,240 shares of Graco stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $80.53 per share, with a total value of $99,857.20. Following the purchase, the director owned 1,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $99,857.20. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.18% of the company’s stock.

Graco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GGG opened at $74.28 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $80.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $84.51. Graco Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.48 and a 52 week high of $95.69. The stock has a market cap of $12.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.20, a PEG ratio of 2.40 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $540.14 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $561.35 million. Graco had a net margin of 22.96% and a return on equity of 18.66%. Graco’s revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.70 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.1 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.