Financial Advocates Investment Management Takes $243,000 Position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Financial Advocates Investment Management acquired a new stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,804 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $243,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in GGG. Tobam increased its holdings in Graco by 2,330.8% during the fourth quarter. Tobam now owns 316 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Graco during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in Graco during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Graco by 3,063.2% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 601 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 582 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Graco by 370.7% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 626 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 493 shares during the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Graco news, insider Claudio Merengo sold 12,652 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.02, for a total transaction of $1,138,933.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 18,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,696,606.94. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Graco news, insider Claudio Merengo sold 12,652 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.02, for a total transaction of $1,138,933.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 18,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,696,606.94. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christian E. Rothe sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.04, for a total value of $1,350,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 25,583 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,303,493.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 44,088 shares of company stock valued at $4,000,485. 2.63% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Graco Stock Performance

Shares of Graco stock opened at $83.01 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $88.04 and a 200-day moving average of $86.13. The stock has a market cap of $14.04 billion, a PE ratio of 28.62, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.84. Graco Inc. has a 52-week low of $69.78 and a 52-week high of $94.77.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The industrial products company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $492.19 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $536.19 million. Graco had a net margin of 23.15% and a return on equity of 23.01%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.74 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on GGG. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Graco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Graco from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Graco from $90.00 to $87.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Graco in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $88.25.

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.