Nuveen LLC Takes Position in Graco Inc. $GGG

Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 317,809 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $26,540,000. Nuveen LLC owned about 0.19% of Graco at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GGG. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Graco during the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Graco by 128.9% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 689 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 388 shares during the period. USA Financial Formulas lifted its holdings in shares of Graco by 43.6% during the 1st quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 1,057 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $88,000 after buying an additional 321 shares during the period. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. bought a new position in shares of Graco during the 1st quarter valued at $140,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of Graco by 21.1% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,834 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $153,000 after buying an additional 319 shares during the period. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Graco Trading Down 0.8%

Graco stock traded down $0.6950 during trading on Thursday, reaching $84.6050. The company had a trading volume of 139,082 shares, compared to its average volume of 819,916. Graco Inc. has a 52 week low of $72.06 and a 52 week high of $92.86. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $85.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $84.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.04.

Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.78 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $571.81 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $590.57 million. Graco had a net margin of 22.26% and a return on equity of 19.05%. Graco's revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.77 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 21st were issued a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 21st. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Graco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on GGG shares. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Graco from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Graco in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Graco presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $94.50.

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.