Handelsbanken Fonder AB Increases Stock Holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 7.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 27,290 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,900 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Graco were worth $2,368,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tobam boosted its holdings in Graco by 2,330.8% in the fourth quarter. Tobam now owns 316 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Graco in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Graco in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Graco by 3,063.2% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 601 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 582 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Graco by 370.7% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 626 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 493 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Graco Price Performance

GGG opened at $82.56 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $91.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $84.84. The firm has a market cap of $13.91 billion, a PE ratio of 28.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.81. Graco Inc. has a 1 year low of $69.78 and a 1 year high of $94.77.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The industrial products company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.74 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $492.19 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $536.19 million. Graco had a return on equity of 23.43% and a net margin of 23.15%. Graco’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.74 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 3.14 EPS for the current year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be given a $0.255 dividend. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.17%.

Insider Transactions at Graco

In other news, VP Angela F. Wordell sold 3,588 shares of Graco stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.60, for a total value of $335,836.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 12,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,191,060. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Graco news, VP Angela F. Wordell sold 3,588 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.60, for a total value of $335,836.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 12,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,191,060. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Anthony J. Gargano sold 1,395 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.00, for a total value of $122,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $501,336. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 48,378 shares of company stock valued at $4,376,528 in the last quarter. 2.63% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Graco from $90.00 to $87.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Graco in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com lowered Graco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Graco from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Graco from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $85.60.

Graco 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.