Graco Inc. $GGG Shares Purchased by Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund

Key Points

• Fjarde AP Fonden boosted its stake in Graco by 37.5% in the first quarter, while institutional investors remain dominant owners with about 93.88% of the stock.
• Graco reported Q1 earnings of $0.66 per share, missing analyst expectations of $0.75, and revenue of $540.14 million, also below estimates. Revenue still rose 2.2% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.295 per share, payable August 5, for an annualized yield of about 1.6%. Analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold with a target price of $94.25.

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund raised its stake in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 37.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 135,942 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 37,050 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund owned approximately 0.08% of Graco worth $11,507,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Graco by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,813,877 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $640,503,000 after purchasing an additional 242,817 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Graco by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,652,241 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $380,642,000 after buying an additional 261,126 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in Graco by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,057,036 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $332,556,000 after buying an additional 206,949 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its holdings in Graco by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 2,076,887 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $176,016,000 after buying an additional 53,126 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Graco during the 4th quarter worth approximately $161,949,000. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company's stock.

Graco Stock Performance

Graco stock opened at $75.22 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $76.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $83.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.93. Graco Inc. has a one year low of $73.15 and a one year high of $95.69.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $540.14 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $561.35 million. Graco had a return on equity of 18.66% and a net margin of 22.96%.The firm's revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.70 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 20th will be paid a $0.295 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 20th. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Graco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $95.00 target price on shares of Graco in a research report on Friday, April 24th. DA Davidson reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Graco in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Graco from $96.00 to $92.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Graco from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $94.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Graco

In other Graco news, Director Andrea Helen Simon purchased 1,240 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The shares were bought at an average price of $80.53 per share, with a total value of $99,857.20. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 1,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $99,857.20. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.18% of the company's stock.

About Graco

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.

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