Bank of Nova Scotia Boosts Stake in Graco Inc. $GGG

Bank of Nova Scotia raised its holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 376.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 57,953 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 45,793 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in Graco were worth $4,906,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GGG. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in Graco by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 496,425 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $42,023,000 after acquiring an additional 16,516 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in shares of Graco by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 15,060 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,275,000 after purchasing an additional 882 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Graco by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,535,923 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $130,016,000 after buying an additional 61,706 shares in the last quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions lifted its stake in Graco by 31.8% in the 1st quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 11,612 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $983,000 after buying an additional 2,805 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in Graco by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 37,806 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,200,000 after buying an additional 1,015 shares during the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Graco Price Performance

Shares of GGG stock opened at $80.41 on Tuesday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $75.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.93. Graco Inc. has a 12 month low of $72.51 and a 12 month high of $95.69.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.91 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 company had revenue of $590.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $608.06 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.75 EPS. The business's revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 3.1 EPS for the current year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Investors of record on Monday, July 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.295 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 20th. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Graco's dividend payout ratio is 37.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GGG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wolfe Research lowered Graco from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Graco from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Robert W. Baird set a $94.00 price target on shares of Graco in a research note on Friday. DA Davidson reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Graco in a report on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Graco from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.

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