Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Invests $279,000 in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 3,314 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $279,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Graco in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Graco by 118.0% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. National Pension Service acquired a new position in Graco during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in Graco in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its position in Graco by 39.1% in the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 484 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Graco Stock Down 1.1%

Graco stock traded down $0.89 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $83.63. 459,093 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 821,426. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $81.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $84.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.66, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.09. Graco Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $72.06 and a fifty-two week high of $92.86.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Graco had a return on equity of 19.38% and a net margin of 23.00%. The business 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 business posted $0.65 EPS. Graco's revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, DA Davidson set a $85.00 price target on shares of Graco in a research report 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 MarketBeat, Graco has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $93.00.

Insider Activity at Graco

In other Graco news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,588 shares of Graco stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.23, for a total value of $309,393.24. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 27,520 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,373,049.60. The trade was a 11.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 2.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Graco 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.