Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Sells 13,500 Shares of Graco Inc. $GGG

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund trimmed its holdings in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 12.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 98,892 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 13,500 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Graco were worth $8,106,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in Graco by 42.6% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 465 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the period. Field & Main Bank bought a new position in shares of Graco in the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Graco by 982.6% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 498 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 452 shares during the period. Matrix Trust Co boosted its position in shares of 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 during the period. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co boosted its position in shares of Graco by 40.3% in the third quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 735 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the period. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Graco news, Director Andrea Helen Simon acquired 1,240 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $80.53 per share, for a total transaction of $99,857.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $99,857.20. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Graco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GGG opened at $74.28 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $80.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $84.51. Graco Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.48 and a fifty-two week high of $95.69. The firm has a market cap of $12.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.93.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last issued its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $540.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $561.35 million. Graco had a return on equity of 18.66% and a net margin of 22.96%.Graco’s revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.70 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on GGG. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Graco in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 price target on shares of Graco in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Graco from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Graco from $96.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $94.25.

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.