Graco Inc. $GGG Shares Acquired by Andra AP fonden

Andra AP fonden grew its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 42.4% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 124,100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 36,969 shares during the quarter. Andra AP fonden’s holdings in Graco were worth $10,505,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GGG. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Graco in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its position in Graco by 2,650.0% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 330 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. Field & Main Bank purchased a new stake in Graco during the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in Graco by 982.6% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 498 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 452 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in Graco by 43.2% in the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 504 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on GGG. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Graco from $96.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Wolfe Research lowered Graco from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings cut Graco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. DA Davidson reiterated 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 $92.00 price objective (down from $95.00) on shares of Graco in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Graco has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $93.50.

Graco Price Performance

Graco stock opened at $73.19 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $75.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $82.77. The stock has a market cap of $12.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.93. Graco Inc. has a 1-year low of $72.51 and a 1-year high of $95.69.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). 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%. The company’s revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.70 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Andrea Helen Simon purchased 1,240 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $80.53 per share, for a total transaction of $99,857.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $99,857.20. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.