Squarepoint Ops LLC Decreases Holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Squarepoint Ops LLC decreased its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 39.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 118,685 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 78,139 shares during the quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC’s holdings in Graco were worth $10,004,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Graco by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,141,579 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,444,864,000 after acquiring an additional 183,335 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Graco by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,229,385 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $356,053,000 after purchasing an additional 77,093 shares during the period. PineStone Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Graco by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,904,681 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $244,836,000 after purchasing an additional 76,184 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Graco by 17.0% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,328,179 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $196,242,000 after buying an additional 337,437 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Graco during the fourth quarter valued at about $177,434,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Transactions at Graco

In related news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,588 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 27,520 shares in the company, valued at $2,373,049.60. The trade was a 11.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 2.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Graco Stock Performance

Shares of Graco stock opened at $83.63 on Friday. Graco Inc. has a 52-week low of $72.06 and a 52-week high of $92.86. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $81.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $84.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.09.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $528.28 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $526.98 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.65 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.