Graco Inc. $GGG Stake Reduced by Nuance Investments LLC

Nuance Investments LLC trimmed its stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 24.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 65,986 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 21,673 shares during the quarter. Nuance Investments LLC’s holdings in Graco were worth $5,606,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Graco by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 41,431 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,562,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Graco by 5.2% during the second quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,723 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $234,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in shares of Graco by 7.8% during the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,874 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $159,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Graco by 5.6% during the second quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,651 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $228,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Graco by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 36,629 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,156,000 after buying an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Graco Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE:GGG opened at $92.90 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $85.10 and a 200-day moving average of $84.07. The firm has a market cap of $15.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.08. Graco Inc. has a twelve month low of $72.06 and a twelve month high of $93.77.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The industrial products company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.77. The business had revenue of $593.16 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $591.99 million. Graco had a net margin of 23.33% and a return on equity of 19.49%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.64 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Graco Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 19th were given a dividend of $0.295 per share. This is a boost from Graco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 16th. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Graco’s payout ratio is currently 38.19%.

Graco announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Friday, December 5th that permits the company to buyback 15,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on GGG shares. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Graco in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Graco from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Graco in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Graco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Graco from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $96.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Kathryn L. Schoenrock sold 2,223 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.06, for a total transaction of $195,757.38. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 7,846 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $690,918.76. The trade was a 22.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Timothy R. White sold 1,469 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.70, for a total value of $133,238.30. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 51,430 shares in the company, valued at $4,664,701. This trade represents a 2.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 16,562 shares of company stock worth $1,475,327 in the last three months. 2.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.