Bank of America Corp DE Decreases Stock Holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Bank of America Corp DE trimmed its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 8.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 548,832 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 50,059 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 0.33% of Graco worth $46,261,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. grew its position in Graco by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. now owns 4,860 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $410,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. grew its position in shares of Graco by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. now owns 27,923 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,354,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the period. Optas LLC increased its stake in shares of Graco by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Optas LLC now owns 3,360 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $283,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its stake in shares of Graco by 39.1% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 484 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of Graco by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 14,548 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,226,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, DA Davidson set a $85.00 price target on shares of Graco in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $93.00.

Insider Transactions at Graco

In related news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,588 shares of Graco stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.23, for a total value of $309,393.24. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 27,520 shares in the company, valued at $2,373,049.60. This trade represents a 11.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 2.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Graco Stock Performance

Graco stock traded up $1.44 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $87.37. The company's stock had a trading volume of 704,468 shares, compared to its average volume of 821,540. Graco Inc. has a 12-month low of $72.06 and a 12-month high of $92.86. The company has a market capitalization of $14.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.98, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.09. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $81.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $84.59.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.02. Graco had a net margin of 23.00% and a return on equity of 19.38%. The company had revenue of $528.28 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $526.98 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.65 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.