Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Shares Purchased by BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S boosted its holdings in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 51.8% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 10,954 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 3,740 shares during the quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S’s holdings in Graco were worth $1,024,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in shares of Graco during the 1st quarter worth about $301,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its position in Graco by 5.3% during the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 77,181 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,213,000 after acquiring an additional 3,877 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. grew its stake in Graco by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 163,177 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $15,250,000 after acquiring an additional 5,814 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Graco in the 1st quarter valued at $153,000. Finally, Tobam raised its holdings in Graco by 90.2% in the 1st quarter. Tobam now owns 601 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Graco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GGG traded up $0.25 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $78.30. The stock had a trading volume of 87,342 shares, compared to its average volume of 719,848. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $80.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $85.70. Graco Inc. has a one year low of $69.78 and a one year high of $94.77. The stock has a market cap of $13.24 billion, a PE ratio of 27.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.82.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The industrial products company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $492.19 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $536.19 million. Graco had a return on equity of 23.01% and a net margin of 23.15%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.74 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Investors of record on Monday, July 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.255 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 22nd. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.30%. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the company. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Graco from $90.00 to $87.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com cut shares of Graco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Graco in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $103.00 price target on shares of Graco in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Graco has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $90.75.

About Graco

Graco Inc designs, manufactures, and markets systems and equipment used to move, measure, control, dispense, and spray fluid and powder materials worldwide. The Contractor segment offers sprayers to apply paint to walls and other structures; two-component proportioning systems that are used to spray polyurethane foam and polyurea coatings; and viscous coatings to roofs, as well as markings on roads, parking lots, athletic fields, and floors.