Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Shares Sold by Squarepoint Ops LLC

Squarepoint Ops LLC reduced its holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 39.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 118,685 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 78,139 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC owned about 0.07% of Graco worth $10,004,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Graco in the 4th quarter valued at $177,434,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Graco by 26,738.4% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,841,916 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $155,255,000 after purchasing an additional 1,835,053 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Graco by 36.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,929,952 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $162,676,000 after purchasing an additional 518,462 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Graco by 76.0% during the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,147,341 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $96,709,000 after purchasing an additional 495,293 shares in the last quarter. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Graco by 48.1% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,497,164 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $126,196,000 after purchasing an additional 486,277 shares during the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Graco Trading Up 1.5%

GGG traded up $1.26 on Tuesday, hitting $84.90. 632,111 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 821,123. Graco Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $72.06 and a fifty-two week high of $92.86. The stock has a market cap of $14.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.09. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $81.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $84.59.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $528.28 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $526.98 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.65 earnings per share. Graco's quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,588 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.23, for a total transaction 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.19% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, DA Davidson set a $85.00 price objective on Graco in a 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $93.00.

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.