Hsbc Holdings PLC Acquires 407,557 Shares of Graco Inc. $GGG

Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 51.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,194,254 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 407,557 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Graco were worth $101,061,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Graco in the 4th quarter valued at about $161,949,000. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in Graco by 1,636.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,011,196 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $82,888,000 after acquiring an additional 952,977 shares during the last quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec increased its stake in Graco by 236.4% during the third quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec now owns 1,279,553 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $108,711,000 after acquiring an additional 899,174 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in Graco by 20,706.4% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 556,362 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $45,605,000 after purchasing an additional 553,688 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Graco by 116.8% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 735,146 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $63,201,000 after purchasing an additional 396,125 shares during the period. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on GGG. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Graco from $96.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Graco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $92.00 price objective (down from $95.00) on shares of Graco in a research report on Thursday. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Graco from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Graco in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $93.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Andrea Helen Simon acquired 1,240 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $80.53 per share, with a total value of $99,857.20. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $99,857.20. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Graco Stock Up 0.0%

GGG stock opened at $74.61 on Monday. Graco Inc. has a twelve month low of $72.51 and a twelve month high of $95.69. The firm has a market cap of $12.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.30, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.93. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $75.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $82.90.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $540.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $561.35 million. Graco had a net margin of 22.96% and a return on equity of 18.66%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.70 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.1 EPS for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Investors of record on Monday, July 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.295 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 20th. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.44%.

Graco 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.