Two Sigma Advisers LP Decreases Holdings in Brady Co. (NYSE:BRC)

Two Sigma Advisers LP lowered its stake in Brady Co. (NYSE:BRC - Free Report) by 40.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,700 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 7,400 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP's holdings in Brady were worth $790,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised 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 valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Brady by 378.1% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in Brady by 19.1% in the 4th 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 in the 4th quarter valued at $96,000. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Brady by 84.2% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,789 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $132,000 after buying an additional 818 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.28% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Sidoti raised shares of Brady to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th.

Brady Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:BRC traded up $0.45 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $70.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 14,781 shares, compared to its average volume of 241,120. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The company has a market capitalization of $3.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.21 and a beta of 0.80. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $69.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $72.11. 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 quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 16th. The industrial products company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22. The business had revenue of $382.59 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $386.61 million. Brady had a net margin of 14.19% and a return on equity of 19.79%. 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 business posted $1.09 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Brady Co. will post 4.55 EPS for the current year.

Brady Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. Brady's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.76%.

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.