Millennium Management LLC Reduces Stake in Brady Co. (NYSE:BRC)

Millennium Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Brady Co. (NYSE:BRC - Free Report) by 87.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,647 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 97,765 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC's holdings in Brady were worth $1,008,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of BRC. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Brady by 213.6% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 461 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 314 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Brady by 378.1% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 655 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 518 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of Brady by 19.1% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 893 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Brady during the fourth quarter worth $96,000. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its holdings 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 period. Institutional investors own 76.28% of the company's stock.

Brady Stock Performance

Shares of BRC stock traded up $0.37 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $69.92. 131,494 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 242,361. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.18 and a beta of 0.80. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $69.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $72.12. Brady Co. has a 52-week low of $62.70 and a 52-week high of $77.68.

Brady (NYSE:BRC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 16th. The industrial products company reported $1.22 earnings per share (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 19.79% and a net margin of 14.19%. The business's revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.09 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Brady Co. will post 4.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brady Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 1.37%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Brady's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BRC shares. Sidoti raised Brady to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Brady from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday.

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.