Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. Boosts Stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. raised its position in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 12.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,600 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,070 shares during the quarter. Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc.’s holdings in Graco were worth $2,188,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of GGG. Gradient Investments LLC acquired a new position in Graco during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Graco during the first quarter worth about $38,000. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. purchased a new position in shares of Graco in the first quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Tobam boosted its stake in shares of Graco by 90.2% in the first quarter. Tobam now owns 601 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Graco by 220.9% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 690 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GGG has been the subject of several recent research reports. DA Davidson decreased their price target on shares of Graco from $82.00 to $79.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Graco from $87.00 to $86.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com lowered Graco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Graco from $99.00 to $96.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.80.

Graco Price Performance

NYSE:GGG opened at $84.59 on Monday. Graco Inc. has a 12 month low of $69.78 and a 12 month high of $94.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.31 billion, a PE ratio of 29.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.81. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $82.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $83.88.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The industrial products company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.01. Graco had a return on equity of 22.40% and a net margin of 23.16%. The business had revenue of $553.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $562.27 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.75 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Graco Inc. will post 2.98 EPS for the current year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.255 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.21%. Graco’s payout ratio is currently 35.17%.

Graco Company 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.