BNP Paribas Financial Markets Sells 37,211 Shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets decreased its position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 37.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 62,096 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 37,211 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets' holdings in Graco were worth $5,234,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in Graco by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 673,240 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $56,740,000 after acquiring an additional 10,041 shares during the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new position in Graco during the fourth quarter valued at $27,478,000. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Graco by 24.2% during the fourth quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 73,567 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $6,201,000 after acquiring an additional 14,322 shares during the last quarter. Aspire Growth Partners LLC bought a new position in Graco during the fourth quarter valued at $255,000. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new position in Graco during the fourth quarter valued at $314,000. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Graco news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,588 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.23, for a total transaction of $309,393.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 27,520 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,373,049.60. This represents a 11.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Graco Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE GGG traded up $1.44 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $87.37. The company had a trading volume of 704,468 shares, compared to its average volume of 820,905. The business's 50-day moving average is $81.57 and its 200-day moving average is $84.57. The stock has a market cap of $14.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.09. Graco Inc. has a 52 week low of $72.06 and a 52 week high of $92.86.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.70 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $526.98 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.65 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current 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.