Nuance Investments LLC Invests $5.88 Million in Graco Inc. $GGG

Nuance Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 77,729 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,877,000. Graco makes up approximately 1.0% of Nuance Investments LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Graco in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,396,470,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in shares of Graco in the second quarter valued at about $30,154,000. Trust Co. of Vermont bought a new position in shares of Graco during the second quarter worth approximately $161,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Graco during the 2nd quarter worth $14,633,000. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Graco in the second quarter valued at about $727,000. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Graco Price Performance

NYSE:GGG opened at $81.54 on Tuesday. Graco Inc. has a 1 year low of $72.51 and a 1 year high of $95.69. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $77.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.14. The company has a market cap of $13.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.92.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $590.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $608.06 million. Graco had a return on equity of 19.54% and a net margin of 23.53%.The company’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.75 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 3.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 20th were paid a $0.295 dividend. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 20th. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on GGG shares. Wolfe Research cut Graco from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Graco in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Graco from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Graco from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $94.00 price target on Graco in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Graco presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $95.00.

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.