Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Shares Sold by Nuveen Asset Management LLC

Nuveen Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 11.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 313,916 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 42,489 shares during the quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned 0.19% of Graco worth $26,460,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of GGG. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Graco by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,141,579 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,444,864,000 after purchasing an additional 183,335 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Graco by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,229,385 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $356,053,000 after purchasing an additional 77,093 shares during the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Graco by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,904,681 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $244,836,000 after buying an additional 76,184 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $196,242,000 after purchasing an additional 337,437 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Graco during the fourth quarter worth about $177,434,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.88% of the company's stock.

Graco Stock Performance

Shares of GGG traded down $0.73 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $84.21. 53,248 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 861,229. The stock's 50-day moving average is $81.77 and its 200-day moving average is $84.59. Graco Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $72.06 and a fifty-two week high of $92.86. The company has a market cap of $14.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.09.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last released 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 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 analyst estimates 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. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Graco

In other Graco news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,588 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.23, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 11.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 2.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, DA Davidson set a $85.00 target price on 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average 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.