Brady Corporation (NYSE:BRC) Shares Sold by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. trimmed its position in shares of Brady Corporation (NYSE:BRC - Free Report) by 67.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,474 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 72,812 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.07% of Brady worth $2,506,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Brady by 378.1% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 655 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 518 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its position in shares of Brady by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 30,143 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,226,000 after acquiring an additional 3,034 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Brady by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 211,174 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $15,595,000 after acquiring an additional 7,083 shares during the period. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Brady during the fourth quarter worth $158,000. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Brady during the fourth quarter worth $393,000. 76.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Brady from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. Sidoti raised Brady to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th.

Brady Stock Down 1.9%

NYSE:BRC traded down $1.28 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $67.13. The company's stock had a trading volume of 283,262 shares, compared to its average volume of 243,871. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.62 and a beta of 0.80. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $70.05 and a 200-day moving average of $71.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Brady Corporation has a 52-week low of $62.70 and a 52-week high of $77.68.

Brady (NYSE:BRC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 16th. The industrial products company reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.22. The firm had revenue of $382.59 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $386.61 million. Brady had a return on equity of 19.57% and a net margin of 13.35%. Brady's revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.09 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Brady Corporation will post 4.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Brady Announces Dividend

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 issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. Brady's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.76%.

Brady 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.