ProShare Advisors LLC Acquires 12,035 Shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 3.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 411,445 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 12,035 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC owned about 0.24% of Graco worth $34,681,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. increased its stake in Graco by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. now owns 4,860 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $410,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. increased its stake in Graco by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. now owns 27,923 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,354,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Optas LLC increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its stake in Graco by 39.1% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 484 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Graco Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of NYSE:GGG traded down $1.35 on Wednesday, reaching $85.41. The company had a trading volume of 147,185 shares, compared to its average volume of 819,306. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $81.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $84.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.09. Graco Inc. has a twelve month low of $72.06 and a twelve month high of $92.86.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Graco had a return on equity of 19.38% and a net margin of 23.00%. The firm had revenue of $528.28 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $526.98 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.65 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Graco

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 transaction of $309,393.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 27,520 shares in the company, valued at $2,373,049.60. This represents a 11.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 2.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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