ING Groep NV Purchases Shares of 37,300 Graco Inc. $GGG

ING Groep NV purchased a new stake in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 37,300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,057,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GGG. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Graco by 15.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 330,409 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,592,000 after acquiring an additional 44,573 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 452 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Graco by 97.2% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,765 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $152,000 after acquiring an additional 870 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in shares of Graco by 559.5% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 108,100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,293,000 after acquiring an additional 91,708 shares during the period. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in shares of Graco by 4.2% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 21,289 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,830,000 after acquiring an additional 852 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Andrea Helen Simon bought 1,240 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $99,857.20. This trade represents a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 2.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GGG has been the topic of a number of research reports. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Graco in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Graco from $96.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Graco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 price target on shares of Graco 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Graco has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $94.25.

Graco Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE GGG opened at $74.13 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $80.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $84.47. Graco Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.48 and a 52-week high of $95.69. The firm has a market cap of $12.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.93.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.66 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $540.14 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $561.35 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.70 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 3.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.