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

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG - Free Report) by 15.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 85,012 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 11,332 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.05% of Graco worth $7,166,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Graco in the fourth quarter valued at $177,434,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Graco by 244.4% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,990,742 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $174,210,000 after purchasing an additional 1,412,704 shares during the period. Canoe Financial LP grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 501,003 shares in the last quarter. Madison Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Graco during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,199,000. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Graco by 6.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,458,988 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $652,736,000 after buying an additional 443,141 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.88% of the company's stock.

Graco Price Performance

GGG stock traded down $4.52 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $75.70. The company had a trading volume of 2,023,298 shares, compared to its average volume of 787,133. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $84.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $85.57. The company has a market capitalization of $12.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.83. Graco Inc. has a 1 year low of $75.64 and a 1 year high of $93.01.

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Graco (NYSE:GGG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The industrial products company reported $0.64 earnings per share (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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Graco Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current year.

Graco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Monday, April 14th will be given a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 14th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. Graco's payout ratio is 39.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on GGG shares. BNP Paribas raised shares of Graco from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $105.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Graco from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, DA Davidson set a $85.00 price objective on Graco in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $93.00.

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.