Carlson Capital Management boosted its position in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG – Get Rating) by 0.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 77,155 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 688 shares during the period. Graco accounts for approximately 0.4% of Carlson Capital Management's portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Carlson Capital Management's holdings in Graco were worth $4,584,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GGG. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in Graco by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 73,608 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,936,000 after purchasing an additional 1,840 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its position in Graco by 400.0% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 355 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its position in shares of Graco by 27.5% in the fourth quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 26,913 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,170,000 after buying an additional 5,808 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Graco by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 443,920 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $35,789,000 after buying an additional 18,421 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Graco by 36.4% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 640,329 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $51,623,000 after buying an additional 170,777 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.47% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GGG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Graco from $80.00 to $70.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 9th. DA Davidson reduced their price target on Graco to $70.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut Graco from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $61.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, July 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $71.00.

Graco Stock Performance

Graco (NYSE:GGG – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 27th. The industrial products company reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.01. Graco had a return on equity of 25.73% and a net margin of 21.38%. The firm had revenue of $548.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $533.49 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.62 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 2.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Graco

In other Graco news, Director Eric Etchart sold 6,000 shares of Graco stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.20, for a total transaction of $403,200.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 31,403 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,110,281.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Graco news, Director Eric Etchart sold 6,000 shares of Graco stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.20, for a total transaction of $403,200.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 31,403 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,110,281.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP David M. Ahlers sold 44,949 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.77, for a total value of $3,181,040.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 65,135 shares in the company, valued at $4,609,603.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.52% of the company's stock.

About Graco

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Graco Inc designs, manufactures, and markets systems and equipment used to move, measure, control, dispense, and spray fluid and powder materials worldwide. The company's Industrial segment offers proportioning systems to spray polyurethane foam and polyurea coatings; equipment that pumps, meters, mixes and dispenses sealant, adhesive, and composite materials; and gel-coat equipment, chop and wet-out systems, resin transfer molding systems and applicators, and precision dispensing solutions.

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