Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Shares Sold by Two Sigma Advisers LP

Two Sigma Advisers LP lessened its holdings in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 37.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,300 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 6,100 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP's holdings in Graco were worth $868,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 183,335 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Graco by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,229,385 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $356,053,000 after acquiring an additional 77,093 shares during the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. lifted 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 purchasing an additional 76,184 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Graco by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,328,179 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $196,242,000 after purchasing an additional 337,437 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Graco during the 4th quarter worth approximately $177,434,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.88% of the company's stock.

Graco Stock Performance

Shares of GGG stock traded up $0.68 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $84.44. The company had a trading volume of 558,817 shares, compared to its average volume of 816,527. 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 $14.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.94, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $81.81 and a 200-day moving average of $84.43.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.02. Graco had a return on equity of 19.38% and a net margin of 23.00%. The company had revenue of $528.28 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $526.98 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.65 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,588 shares of the firm's 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 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 this link. Corporate insiders own 2.19% of the company's stock.

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.