Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Takes Position in Brady Co. (NYSE:BRC)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of Brady Co. (NYSE:BRC - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 22,400 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,315,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BRC. Diversified Trust Co increased its position in shares of Brady by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 12,705 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $746,000 after buying an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. BRYN MAWR TRUST Co lifted its stake in shares of Brady by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. BRYN MAWR TRUST Co now owns 95,751 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,259,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank lifted its position in Brady by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 100,900 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,541,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in Brady by 19.7% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 8,033 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $441,000 after acquiring an additional 1,321 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP lifted its position in Brady by 30.7% during the 3rd quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 7,676 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $422,000 after acquiring an additional 1,801 shares in the last quarter. 76.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Brady

In related news, Director Nancy Lee Gioia sold 4,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.20, for a total transaction of $251,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,551 shares of the company's stock, valued at $683,819.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Brady news, Director Nancy Lee Gioia sold 4,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.20, for a total value of $251,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,551 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $683,819.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Elizabeth P. Bruno sold 8,322 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.33, for a total value of $477,100.26. Following the sale, the director now owns 333,593 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,124,886.69. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 39,017 shares of company stock valued at $2,283,667. Company insiders own 15.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on BRC. StockNews.com downgraded Brady from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Bank of America upgraded Brady from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $51.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd.

Brady Price Performance

Shares of Brady stock traded up $0.01 during trading on Monday, hitting $58.66. The stock had a trading volume of 172,753 shares, compared to its average volume of 359,327. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 1.44. The firm has a market cap of $2.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.32, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.77. The business has a fifty day moving average of $59.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $57.68. Brady Co. has a fifty-two week low of $46.77 and a fifty-two week high of $63.02.

Brady (NYSE:BRC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.01. Brady had a return on equity of 19.24% and a net margin of 14.08%. The business had revenue of $322.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $339.61 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.81 earnings per share. Brady's revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Brady Co. will post 4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brady Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 8th. Brady's dividend payout ratio is 24.54%.

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.