BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Purchases 2,017 Shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S grew its holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 38.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,214 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,017 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S’s holdings in Graco were worth $626,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Graco by 3,063.2% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 601 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 582 shares in the last quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Graco by 122,377.8% in the 3rd quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 99,207 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,230,000 after buying an additional 99,126 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Graco by 1.8% in the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 313,257 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $22,830,000 after acquiring an additional 5,480 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Graco by 16.2% in the 3rd quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 4,198 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $306,000 after purchasing an additional 585 shares during the period. Finally, OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Graco during the third quarter worth $420,000. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Graco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Graco from $90.00 to $87.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 26th. William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Graco in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Graco from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $88.25.

Insider Activity at Graco

In other news, insider Claudio Merengo sold 12,652 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.02, for a total value of $1,138,933.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 18,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,696,606.94. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Claudio Merengo sold 12,652 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.02, for a total value of $1,138,933.04. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 18,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,696,606.94. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Angela F. Wordell sold 3,588 shares of Graco stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.60, for a total transaction of $335,836.80. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 12,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,191,060. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,088 shares of company stock worth $2,649,885 over the last quarter. 2.63% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Graco Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of Graco stock opened at $81.57 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.80 billion, a PE ratio of 28.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.84. Graco Inc. has a 12 month low of $69.78 and a 12 month high of $94.77. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $87.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $86.10.

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

Graco Profile

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.