Brady Co. (NYSE:BRC) Shares Bought by Royce & Associates LP

Royce & Associates LP boosted its holdings in shares of Brady Co. (NYSE:BRC) by 27.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 555,792 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 118,557 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP owned about 1.17% of Brady worth $42,590,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Brady by 65.3% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 663 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Brady by 337.1% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 918 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 708 shares during the period. Quarry LP raised its position in shares of Brady by 36.1% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 962 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the period. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Brady in the first quarter worth about $66,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Brady in the second quarter worth about $119,000. 76.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Brady Stock Down 2.1 %

BRC stock opened at $74.67 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.76. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $74.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $69.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Brady Co. has a 52 week low of $52.68 and a 52 week high of $77.68.

Brady (NYSE:BRC) last released its earnings results on Friday, September 6th. The industrial products company reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.08. Brady had a net margin of 14.70% and a return on equity of 19.84%. The business had revenue of $343.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $351.74 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.04 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Brady Co. will post 4.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brady Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This is a boost from Brady’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Brady’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.59%.

Insider Activity at Brady

In other news, COO Thomas F. Debruine sold 2,851 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.77, for a total value of $216,020.27. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 9,727 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $737,014.79. This represents a 22.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Russell Shaller sold 12,547 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.08, for a total transaction of $916,934.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 102,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,520,297.40. This trade represents a 10.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 45,262 shares of company stock valued at $3,371,231. Corporate insiders own 15.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Brady from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th.

Brady Company Profile

Brady Corporation manufactures and supplies identification solutions (IDS) and workplace safety (WPS) products to identify and protect premises, products, and people in the United States and internationally. The company offers materials, printing systems, RFID, and bar code scanners for product identification, brand protection labeling, work in process labeling, finished product identification, and industrial track and trace applications; safety signs, floor-marking tapes, pipe markers, labeling systems, spill control products, lockout/tagout device, and software and services for safety compliance auditing, procedure writing, and training; and hand-held printers, wire markers, sleeves, and tags for wire identification.