Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $6.45 Million Stock Holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 73,680 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,128 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Graco were worth $6,448,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Graco by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 91,616 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,263,000 after acquiring an additional 3,473 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Graco by 5.5% in the second quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 2,309 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $183,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Graco by 33.9% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 338,597 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,844,000 after purchasing an additional 85,656 shares during the period. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Graco during the 2nd quarter worth about $286,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Graco by 220.9% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 690 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 475 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on GGG. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $79.00 price target on shares of Graco in a report on Friday, September 27th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Graco from $96.00 to $93.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Graco from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.25.

Graco Price Performance

Graco stock opened at $88.67 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $14.97 billion, a PE ratio of 31.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.83. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $87.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $83.45. Graco Inc. has a one year low of $77.49 and a one year high of $94.77.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.05). Graco had a return on equity of 21.24% and a net margin of 22.87%. The company had revenue of $519.21 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $538.19 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.76 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Graco Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. This is an increase from Graco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Graco’s dividend payout ratio is 38.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Graco news, insider Peter J. O’shea sold 18,075 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $1,604,337.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 14,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,288,440.16. This trade represents a 55.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Caroline M. Chambers sold 8,280 shares of Graco stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.57, for a total value of $749,919.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 57,612 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,217,918.84. The trade was a 12.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 31,098 shares of company stock worth $2,776,150. Corporate insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Graco Profile

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.