34,106 Shares in Brady Co. (NYSE:BRC) Acquired by Sapience Investments LLC

Sapience Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Brady Co. (NYSE:BRC - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 34,106 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $2,519,000. Brady makes up 1.5% of Sapience Investments LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Sapience Investments LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Brady at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its position in shares of Brady by 18.2% in the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 177,324 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $13,095,000 after buying an additional 27,293 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its position in Brady by 84.2% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,789 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $132,000 after acquiring an additional 818 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Brady by 15.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 450,148 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $33,243,000 after purchasing an additional 59,752 shares in the last quarter. Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc. grew its position in shares of Brady by 50.2% in the fourth quarter. Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc. now owns 54,509 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $4,025,000 after purchasing an additional 18,228 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC purchased a new position in shares of Brady during the 4th quarter worth approximately $224,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.28% of the company's stock.

Brady Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:BRC traded down $0.48 during trading on Thursday, reaching $69.66. The stock had a trading volume of 91,449 shares, compared to its average volume of 247,449. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The stock has a market cap of $3.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.09 and a beta of 0.86. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $70.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $72.47. Brady Co. has a fifty-two week low of $62.12 and a fifty-two week high of $77.68.

Brady (NYSE:BRC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 16th. The industrial products company reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.22. Brady had a net margin of 14.19% and a return on equity of 19.79%. The firm had revenue of $382.59 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $386.61 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.09 EPS. Brady's revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Brady Co. will post 4.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brady Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.38%. Brady's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Sidoti raised Brady to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday.

About Brady

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.