Swiss National Bank Sells 26,400 Shares of Graco Inc. $GGG

Swiss National Bank lessened its stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 5.2% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 481,900 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 26,400 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Graco were worth $40,942,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GGG. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Graco during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. CX Institutional grew its position in Graco by 316.7% in the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 475 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in Graco by 42.6% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 465 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Graco by 982.6% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 498 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 452 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its position in Graco by 116.9% during the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 514 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GGG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Graco from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Robert W. Baird set a $96.00 price objective on Graco in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Graco from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Graco in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Graco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $96.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Graco news, insider Timothy R. White sold 1,469 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.70, for a total value of $133,238.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 51,430 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,664,701. The trade was a 2.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Angela F. Wordell sold 2,832 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.22, for a total value of $263,999.04. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 13,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,245,419.20. This trade represents a 17.49% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 19,394 shares of company stock worth $1,739,326. Company insiders own 2.19% of the company’s stock.

Graco Price Performance

NYSE GGG traded down $0.49 during trading on Friday, hitting $86.42. 125,783 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,001,407. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $89.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $85.37. Graco Inc. has a 12-month low of $72.06 and a 12-month high of $95.69. The firm has a market cap of $14.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.95, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.07.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 26th. The industrial products company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.77. Graco had a return on equity of 19.49% and a net margin of 23.33%.The firm had revenue of $593.16 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $591.99 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.64 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 13th will be paid a $0.295 dividend. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 13th. Graco’s payout ratio is 38.19%.

Graco announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Friday, December 5th that permits the company to repurchase 15,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.