Norges Bank Invests $161.95 Million in Graco Inc. $GGG

Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 1,975,707 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $161,949,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Graco by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,571,060 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $643,237,000 after purchasing an additional 99,097 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Graco by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,652,241 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $380,642,000 after purchasing an additional 261,126 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its stake in shares of Graco by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 2,076,887 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $176,016,000 after purchasing an additional 53,126 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Graco by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,865,673 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $158,508,000 after purchasing an additional 14,764 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Graco by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,572,598 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $133,608,000 after purchasing an additional 42,381 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Andrea Helen Simon purchased 1,240 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $80.53 per share, with a total value of $99,857.20. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 1,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $99,857.20. This trade represents a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 2.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Graco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GGG opened at $73.88 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $81.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $84.58. Graco Inc. has a one year low of $73.48 and a one year high of $95.69. The company has a market cap of $12.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.06, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.93.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.75 by ($0.09). Graco had a net margin of 22.96% and a return on equity of 18.66%. The firm had revenue of $540.14 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $561.35 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.70 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on GGG. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 price target on shares of Graco in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Graco from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Graco in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Graco from $96.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.