Achmea Investment Management B.V. Buys 8,396 Shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Achmea Investment Management B.V. lifted its stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 95.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,226 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,396 shares during the quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V.’s holdings in Graco were worth $1,365,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in Graco by 1,010.8% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 55,886 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,223,000 after buying an additional 50,855 shares during the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Graco by 567.4% in the 1st quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 42,899 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,009,000 after acquiring an additional 36,471 shares during the last quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. ADV purchased a new position in Graco in the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,412,000. Secured Retirement Advisors LLC bought a new position in Graco in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,606,000. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in Graco by 14.5% during the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,440,378 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $134,618,000 after purchasing an additional 182,470 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Graco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GGG opened at $83.09 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $81.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $84.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.65, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.81. Graco Inc. has a 52-week low of $69.78 and a 52-week high of $94.77.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.01. Graco had a net margin of 23.16% and a return on equity of 22.40%. The company had revenue of $553.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $562.27 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.75 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 2.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com cut Graco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Graco from $87.00 to $86.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Graco from $99.00 to $96.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their price target on shares of Graco from $82.00 to $79.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 26th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.80.

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.