iSAM Funds UK Ltd Sells 13,707 Shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

iSAM Funds UK Ltd reduced its holdings in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 70.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,677 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 13,707 shares during the quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd's holdings in Graco were worth $479,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Graco by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,141,579 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,444,864,000 after acquiring an additional 183,335 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Graco by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,229,385 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $356,053,000 after purchasing an additional 77,093 shares during the period. PineStone Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Graco by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,904,681 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $244,836,000 after acquiring an additional 76,184 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Graco by 17.0% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,328,179 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $196,242,000 after purchasing an additional 337,437 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Graco during the 4th quarter worth $177,434,000. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Graco

In other news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,588 shares of Graco 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 27,520 shares in the company, 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 is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.19% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Graco Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of GGG stock traded down $0.89 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $83.63. The stock had a trading volume of 459,093 shares, compared to its average volume of 821,882. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.98 billion, a PE ratio of 29.66, 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. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $81.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $84.61.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $526.98 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.65 earnings per share. Graco's quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current year.

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.