Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Sells 12,500 Shares of Graco Inc. $GGG

Key Points

• Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund reduced its stake in Graco Inc. by 13.9%, selling 12,500 shares and ending the quarter with 77,431 shares valued at approximately $6.47 million.
• Graco Inc. reported a quarterly EPS of $0.75, missing analyst estimates by $0.03, while revenue for the quarter was $571.81 million, below expectations of $590.57 million.
• The company declared a $0.275 quarterly dividend, resulting in an annualized dividend of $1.10 with a yield of 1.3% and a payout ratio of 39.01%.

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund decreased its holdings in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 13.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 77,431 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 12,500 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund's holdings in Graco were worth $6,466,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of GGG. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Graco in the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Graco by 128.9% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 689 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 388 shares during the period. National Pension Service lifted its holdings in shares of Graco by 74.8% during the 1st quarter. National Pension Service now owns 699 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares during the period. USA Financial Formulas lifted its holdings in Graco by 43.6% during the 1st quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 1,057 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Graco in the 1st quarter valued at about $96,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.88% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on GGG. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Graco from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Graco in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $94.50.

Graco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GGG traded down $0.7950 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $85.4250. The company had a trading volume of 374,685 shares, compared to its average volume of 821,606. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $85.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $84.14. Graco Inc. has a one year low of $72.06 and a one year high of $92.86. The company has a market capitalization of $14.15 billion, a PE ratio of 30.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.04.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.78 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $571.81 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $590.57 million. Graco had a return on equity of 19.05% and a net margin of 22.26%.Graco's revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.77 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st were paid a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 21st. Graco's payout ratio is currently 39.01%.

Graco Company Profile

Graco Inc designs, manufactures, and markets systems and equipment used to move, measure, control, dispense, and spray fluid and powder materials worldwide. The Contractor segment offers sprayers to apply paint to walls and other structures; two-component proportioning systems that are used to spray polyurethane foam and polyurea coatings; and viscous coatings to roofs, as well as markings on roads, parking lots, athletic fields, and floors.