Handelsbanken Fonder AB Sells 2,100 Shares of Brady Co. (NYSE:BRC)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB cut its holdings in shares of Brady Co. (NYSE:BRC) by 18.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,509 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,100 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Brady were worth $558,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its stake in shares of Brady by 69.1% in the fourth quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 388,453 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $22,743,000 after buying an additional 158,780 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners acquired a new stake in Brady in the 3rd quarter valued at about $975,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Brady by 2,366.6% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 825,563 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $48,452,000 after acquiring an additional 792,094 shares during the last quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Brady by 722.3% during the third quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. now owns 54,451 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,990,000 after purchasing an additional 47,829 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Brady by 85.2% during the third quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 48,966 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,689,000 after purchasing an additional 22,529 shares during the last quarter. 76.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Brady Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE BRC opened at $59.00 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $58.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $57.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 1.44. Brady Co. has a fifty-two week low of $46.77 and a fifty-two week high of $63.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.77.

Brady (NYSE:BRC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $322.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $339.61 million. Brady had a return on equity of 19.24% and a net margin of 14.08%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.81 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Brady Co. will post 4 EPS for the current year.

Brady Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th were issued a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 8th. Brady’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on BRC. StockNews.com downgraded Brady from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Bank of America raised Brady from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $51.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Brady news, Director Elizabeth P. Bruno sold 2,415 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.01, for a total value of $144,924.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 326,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,573,941.78. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Elizabeth P. Bruno sold 8,322 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.33, for a total transaction of $477,100.26. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 333,593 shares in the company, valued at $19,124,886.69. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Elizabeth P. Bruno sold 2,415 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.01, for a total transaction of $144,924.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 326,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,573,941.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 39,017 shares of company stock valued at $2,283,667. 15.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.