Nuveen LLC Buys Shares of 317,809 Graco Inc. $GGG

Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 317,809 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,540,000. Nuveen LLC owned 0.19% of Graco at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in GGG. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Graco in the fourth quarter valued at $46,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Graco by 128.9% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 689 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas grew its position in shares of Graco by 43.6% in the first quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 1,057 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. purchased a new position in shares of Graco in the first quarter valued at $140,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in shares of Graco by 21.1% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,834 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $153,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares in the last quarter. 93.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Graco Stock Down 0.9%

Graco stock opened at $84.48 on Monday. Graco Inc. has a 52 week low of $72.06 and a 52 week high of $92.86. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $85.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $84.13. The stock has a market cap of $14.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.96, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.04.

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

Graco Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GGG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Graco from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Graco in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.50.

About Graco

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.