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

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

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Graco in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its position in Graco by 118.0% during the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 351 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service bought a new position in Graco during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Graco in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Graco in the fourth quarter valued at about $61,000. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,588 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the insider now owns 27,520 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,373,049.60. The trade was a 11.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Graco Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of GGG traded up $0.99 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $84.63. 225,497 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 819,541. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $81.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $84.59. The stock has a market cap of $14.14 billion, a PE ratio of 30.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.09. Graco Inc. has a 12 month low of $72.06 and a 12 month high of $92.86.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $528.28 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $526.98 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.65 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.