84,466 Shares in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) Bought by Woodline Partners LP

Woodline Partners LP acquired a new stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 84,466 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $7,120,000. Woodline Partners LP owned about 0.05% of Graco as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. raised its stake in shares of Graco by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. now owns 4,860 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $410,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. Optas LLC boosted its position in shares of Graco by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Optas LLC now owns 3,360 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $283,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its holdings in shares of Graco by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 14,548 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,226,000 after buying an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in shares of Graco by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,782 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $235,000 after buying an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Financial Group LLC raised its position in Graco by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC now owns 12,583 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,061,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Graco Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of GGG traded up $1.26 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $84.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 632,111 shares, compared to its average volume of 821,123. Graco Inc. has a 1-year low of $72.06 and a 1-year high of $92.86. The stock has a market cap of $14.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.10, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.09. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $81.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $84.59.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $528.28 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $526.98 million. Graco had a return on equity of 19.38% and a net margin of 23.00%. Graco's quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.65 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,588 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.23, for a total value of $309,393.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 27,520 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,373,049.60. This represents a 11.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.19% of the company's stock.

About Graco

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.