Nordea Investment Management AB Boosts Stock Holdings in Graco Inc. $GGG

Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 299.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 342,247 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 256,593 shares during the quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB owned approximately 0.21% of Graco worth $28,263,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Graco during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. CX Institutional increased its holdings in Graco by 316.7% during the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 475 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 361 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in Graco by 42.6% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 465 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Graco by 982.6% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 498 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 452 shares during the period. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Graco by 116.9% during the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 514 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 277 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on GGG. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Graco in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Graco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Graco in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Graco from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Graco from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.50.

Graco Stock Performance

Shares of GGG stock opened at $85.49 on Wednesday. Graco Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $72.06 and a fifty-two week high of $95.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.17 billion, a PE ratio of 27.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.07. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $89.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $85.34.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The industrial products company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.77. The company had revenue of $593.16 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $591.99 million. Graco had a return on equity of 19.49% and a net margin of 23.33%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.64 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.295 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 13th. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.19%.

Graco declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Friday, December 5th that allows the company to buyback 15,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Timothy R. White sold 1,469 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.70, for a total value of $133,238.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 51,430 shares in the company, valued at $4,664,701. The trade was a 2.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Angela F. Wordell sold 2,832 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.22, for a total transaction of $263,999.04. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 13,360 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,245,419.20. This represents a 17.49% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 19,394 shares of company stock valued at $1,739,326. 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.