Novem Group Invests $746,000 in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Novem Group bought a new stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 8,848 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $746,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of GGG. Taylor Hoffman Capital Management LLC raised its position in Graco by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Taylor Hoffman Capital Management LLC now owns 43,621 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,677,000 after buying an additional 430 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Graco by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,191,033 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $100,392,000 after acquiring an additional 79,881 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Graco in the 4th quarter worth $7,120,000. State of Wyoming raised its holdings in shares of Graco by 73.0% in the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 4,546 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $383,000 after purchasing an additional 1,918 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Snowden Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Graco by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,403 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $624,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.88% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Graco

In other Graco news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,588 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 27,520 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,373,049.60. This trade represents a 11.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.19% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, DA Davidson set a $85.00 price target on shares of 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Graco currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $93.00.

Graco Trading Down 2.4%

GGG stock opened at $84.67 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $14.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.09. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $81.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $84.66. Graco Inc. has a 1-year low of $72.06 and a 1-year high of $92.86.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $526.98 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.65 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.

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