GAMMA Investing LLC Acquires 395,991 Shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 9,453.1% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 400,180 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 395,991 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Graco were worth $33,419,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Graco during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Graco by 118.0% during the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service bought a new position in Graco during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in Graco during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Graco during the fourth quarter worth about $46,000. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Graco

In other Graco news, insider David J. Thompson sold 3,588 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.23, for a total value of $309,393.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 27,520 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,373,049.60. This represents a 11.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.19% of the company’s stock.

Graco Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of GGG opened at $84.44 on Wednesday. Graco Inc. has a 1 year low of $72.06 and a 1 year high of $92.86. The stock has a market cap of $14.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.09. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $81.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $84.43.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.02. Graco had a net margin of 23.00% and a return on equity of 19.38%. The firm had revenue of $528.28 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $526.98 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.65 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current 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.