Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Sells 7,500 Shares of Graco Inc. $GGG

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL decreased its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 708,595 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 7,500 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL’s holdings in Graco were worth $58,084,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. North Dakota State Investment Board bought a new position in shares of Graco in the fourth quarter worth approximately $479,000. iA Global Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Graco by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,741 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $389,000 after purchasing an additional 659 shares during the last quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Graco in the fourth quarter worth approximately $396,000. DNB Asset Management AS lifted its stake in Graco by 72.7% in the fourth quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 85,696 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,025,000 after acquiring an additional 36,082 shares during the period. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC lifted its stake in Graco by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 37,095 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,041,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Graco

In related news, Director Andrea Helen Simon purchased 1,240 shares of Graco stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $80.53 per share, for a total transaction of $99,857.20. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 1,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $99,857.20. The trade was a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Graco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GGG opened at $75.70 on Monday. Graco Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.58 and a 1-year high of $95.69. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $84.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $85.16. The company has a market capitalization of $12.56 billion, a PE ratio of 24.66, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.96.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.75 by ($0.09). Graco had a net margin of 22.96% and a return on equity of 18.66%. The company had revenue of $540.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $561.35 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.70 earnings per share. Graco’s revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 3.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on GGG shares. Weiss Ratings lowered Graco from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Graco in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Graco in a research report on Friday, April 24th. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Graco in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Graco from $96.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Graco has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $94.25.

About Graco

Graco Inc is a leading manufacturer of fluid handling systems and components, headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded in 1926, the company has built a reputation for innovation in spray finishing, lubrication, and fluid management technologies. Graco’s solutions are designed to address the needs of paint and coatings applicators, general industry, and process fluids in a variety of end markets.

The company’s product portfolio includes airless and air-assisted spray equipment, pumps for oil and gas applications, industrial lubrication systems, and automated dispensing equipment.