SEB Asset Management AB Acquires New Holdings in Graco Inc. $GGG

SEB Asset Management AB bought a new stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 243,624 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,623,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Graco by 2,650.0% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 330 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Graco by 982.6% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 498 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 452 shares during the last quarter. Field & Main Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Graco in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Graco by 43.2% in the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 504 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Matrix Trust Co boosted its holdings in Graco by 43.0% in the fourth quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 555 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Graco Price Performance

GGG stock opened at $74.61 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a 50-day moving average of $75.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $82.90. Graco Inc. has a 52-week low of $72.51 and a 52-week high of $95.69.

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

Graco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 20th will be issued a $0.295 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 38.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Graco news, Director Andrea Helen Simon purchased 1,240 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The shares were 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 position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.