Nuveen Asset Management LLC Has $26.46 Million Position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 11.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and 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 approximately 0.19% of Graco worth $26,460,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GGG. Park Avenue Securities LLC acquired a new position in Graco during the 4th quarter worth about $254,000. HB Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Graco in the 4th quarter worth approximately $261,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Graco by 93.1% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 956 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 461 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Graco by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 4,425 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $373,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the period. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Graco by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 68,030 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,734,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, DA Davidson set a $85.00 price objective on Graco in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Graco has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $93.00.

Graco Stock Down 0.1%

Graco stock opened at $84.53 on Friday. Graco Inc. has a 12-month low of $72.06 and a 12-month high of $92.86. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $81.73 and its 200 day moving average is $84.67. The company has a market capitalization of $14.13 billion, a PE ratio of 29.98, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.09.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $526.98 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.65 EPS. Graco’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,588 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.23, for a total transaction of $309,393.24. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 27,520 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,373,049.60. This represents a 11.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.