WINTON GROUP Ltd Buys Shares of 80,816 Graco Inc. $GGG

WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 80,816 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,624,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Graco by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 41,431 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,562,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in Graco by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,755 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $149,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Graco by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,849 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $242,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in Graco by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,874 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $159,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Viawealth LLC boosted its holdings in Graco by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Viawealth LLC now owns 53,195 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,519,000 after purchasing an additional 137 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, Director Andrea Helen Simon bought 1,240 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $80.53 per share, with a total value of $99,857.20. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 1,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $99,857.20. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on GGG. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Graco from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Graco in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 price target on shares of Graco in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Graco from $96.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $94.25.

Graco Stock Performance

Graco stock opened at $74.28 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $80.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $84.47. The company has a market capitalization of $12.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.93. Graco Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.48 and a 1 year high of $95.69.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $540.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $561.35 million. Graco had a net margin of 22.96% and a return on equity of 18.66%. Graco’s revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.70 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Company Profile

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.