Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Increases Stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 36.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,239 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,300 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Graco were worth $1,356,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of GGG. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Graco in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Graco by 118.0% during the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 351 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service acquired a new stake in shares of Graco during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Graco in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Graco in the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Graco

In other news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,588 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was 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 $2,373,049.60. The trade was a 11.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Graco Price Performance

Shares of GGG stock traded up $1.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $85.05. The stock had a trading volume of 517,966 shares, compared to its average volume of 810,330. The firm has a market cap of $14.21 billion, a PE ratio of 30.16, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.07. Graco Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $72.06 and a fifty-two week high of $92.86. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $81.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $84.36.

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