Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Purchases 11,332 Shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG) by 15.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 85,012 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,332 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Graco were worth $7,166,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN lifted its position in shares of Graco by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 419,942 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,749,000 after buying an additional 13,876 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its stake in Graco by 32.0% during the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,545,846 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $130,298,000 after acquiring an additional 374,967 shares in the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Graco by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,904,681 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $244,836,000 after purchasing an additional 76,184 shares in the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP grew its holdings in shares of Graco by 359.2% during the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 640,474 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $53,986,000 after purchasing an additional 501,003 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Graco by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,054,966 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $88,923,000 after purchasing an additional 19,545 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.88% of the company’s stock.

Graco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GGG opened at $83.55 on Tuesday. Graco Inc. has a 52 week low of $77.49 and a 52 week high of $93.25. The firm has a market cap of $14.05 billion, a PE ratio of 29.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.83. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $84.99 and its 200-day moving average is $85.65.

Graco (NYSE:GGG) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The industrial products company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.77 by ($0.13). Graco had a return on equity of 19.38% and a net margin of 23.00%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Monday, April 14th will be issued a $0.275 dividend. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 14th. Graco’s payout ratio is presently 39.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on GGG shares. DA Davidson set a $85.00 target price on shares of Graco in a research report on Friday, January 31st. BNP Paribas upgraded Graco from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Graco from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $93.00.

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.