Royal Bank of Canada Purchases 22,737 Shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 7.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 326,104 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 22,737 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 0.19% of Graco worth $27,487,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Graco in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Graco by 118.0% in the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 351 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service acquired a new position in shares of Graco in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Graco in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Graco in the 4th quarter worth approximately $61,000. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Graco Stock Up 1.5%

NYSE:GGG traded up $1.26 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $84.90. 632,111 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 821,123. The company's 50 day moving average is $81.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.59. The company has a market capitalization of $14.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.09. Graco Inc. has a twelve month low of $72.06 and a twelve month high of $92.86.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,588 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $2,373,049.60. This represents a 11.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Graco Company Profile

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.