Danske Bank A S Acquires Shares of 165,010 Graco Inc. $GGG

Danske Bank A S bought a new position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 165,010 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,476,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Graco in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Graco by 2,650.0% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 330 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 318 shares during the period. Essential Partners LLC grew its holdings in Graco by 78.6% during the first quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 359 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the period. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Graco by 2,540.0% in the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 528 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 508 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Field & Main Bank purchased a new position in Graco in the fourth quarter worth $41,000. 93.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Weiss Ratings raised Graco from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Graco from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Graco in a report on Monday, July 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Graco from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $94.00 target price on shares of Graco in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $95.00.

Graco Price Performance

NYSE GGG opened at $81.77 on Friday. Graco Inc. has a 12 month low of $72.51 and a 12 month high of $95.69. The company has a 50-day moving average of $77.66 and a 200-day moving average of $82.03. The company has a market cap of $13.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.92.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.10. Graco had a net margin of 23.53% and a return on equity of 19.54%. The business had revenue of $590.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $608.06 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.75 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 3.26 EPS for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 20th were issued a $0.295 dividend. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 20th. Graco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.11%.

About Graco

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.