Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Shares Bought by GAMMA Investing LLC

GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 9,453.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 400,180 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 395,991 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC owned 0.24% of Graco worth $33,419,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Optas LLC raised its stake in Graco by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Optas LLC now owns 3,360 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $283,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. raised its holdings in Graco by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 2,856 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $241,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the period. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Graco by 43.9% in the 4th quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 5,870 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $495,000 after acquiring an additional 1,791 shares during the last quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB boosted its position in shares of Graco by 24.2% during the fourth quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 8,200 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $691,000 after buying an additional 1,600 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Graco by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 3,747 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $314,000 after acquiring an additional 412 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.88% of the company's stock.

Graco Trading Up 0.8%

GGG traded up $0.70 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $84.67. 223,508 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 808,398. Graco Inc. has a 12-month low of $72.06 and a 12-month high of $92.86. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $81.84 and a 200 day moving average of $84.38. The firm has a market cap of $14.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.07.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $528.28 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $526.98 million. Graco had a net margin of 23.00% and a return on equity of 19.38%. The firm's revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.65 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Graco

In other Graco news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,588 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.23, for a total transaction of $309,393.24. Following the sale, the insider now owns 27,520 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,373,049.60. This trade represents a 11.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 2.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.