Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 72,812 Shares of Brady Corporation (NYSE:BRC)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. decreased its position in shares of Brady Corporation (NYSE:BRC - Free Report) by 67.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and 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 about 0.07% of Brady worth $2,506,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Brady during the 1st quarter worth approximately $778,000. Vest Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Brady in the first quarter valued at $810,000. Annex Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Brady in the first quarter valued at $3,267,000. NBC Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Brady by 99,900.0% in the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 3,000 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $211,000 after buying an additional 2,997 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Brady by 7,044.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 138,454 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $9,780,000 after buying an additional 136,516 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.28% of the company's stock.

Brady Trading Down 1.0%

BRC stock traded down $0.66 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $66.56. The stock had a trading volume of 236,432 shares, compared to its average volume of 240,614. The firm has a market cap of $3.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.43 and a beta of 0.80. Brady Corporation has a twelve month low of $62.70 and a twelve month high of $77.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $71.78.

Brady (NYSE:BRC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 13.35% and a return on equity of 19.57%. The company had revenue of $382.59 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $386.61 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.09 EPS. Brady's revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Brady Corporation will post 4.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brady Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. Brady's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BRC. Sidoti raised shares of Brady to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Wall Street Zen raised Brady from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th.

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.