Nuance Investments LLC purchased a new position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG – Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 77,729 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,877,000. Graco accounts for about 1.0% of Nuance Investments LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding.
Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Graco in the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Graco by 2,650.0% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 330 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares in the last quarter. Essential Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Graco by 78.6% during the first quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 359 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Graco by 982.6% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 498 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 452 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Field & Main Bank bought a new position in shares of Graco during the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Graco from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Graco from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Wolfe Research downgraded Graco from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Graco in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $94.00 price objective on Graco in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $95.00.
Graco Stock Down 0.5%
GGG stock opened at $81.54 on Tuesday. Graco Inc. has a 52 week low of $72.51 and a 52 week high of $95.69. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $77.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $82.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.92.
Graco (NYSE:GGG – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.10. Graco had a return on equity of 19.54% and a net margin of 23.53%.The business had revenue of $590.55 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $608.06 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.75 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 3.26 EPS for the current year.
Graco Dividend Announcement
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Investors of record on Monday, July 20th were given a $0.295 dividend. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 20th. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is 37.11%.
Graco 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.
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