Swedbank AB Purchases Shares of 11,988 Graco Inc. $GGG

Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 11,988 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $983,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in Graco in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in Graco by 42.6% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 465 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Graco by 982.6% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 498 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 452 shares during the period. Field & Main Bank purchased a new position in Graco in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Matrix Trust Co boosted its position in Graco by 43.0% in the 4th quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 555 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on GGG shares. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Graco in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Graco from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 price target on shares of Graco in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Graco from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.25.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Andrea Helen Simon acquired 1,240 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $80.53 per share, with a total value of $99,857.20. Following the transaction, 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.18% of the company’s stock.

Graco Trading Down 0.3%

Graco stock opened at $76.11 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $12.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $82.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $84.84. Graco Inc. has a 12-month low of $74.24 and a 12-month high of $95.69.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.75 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $540.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $561.35 million. Graco had a return on equity of 18.66% and a net margin of 22.96%.Graco’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.70 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 3.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.