Swiss National Bank Decreases Stock Holdings in Brady Co. (NYSE:BRC)

Swiss National Bank decreased its holdings in Brady Co. (NYSE:BRC - Free Report) by 12.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 88,300 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 12,600 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned 0.18% of Brady worth $5,182,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its position in Brady by 293.8% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 575 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 429 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Brady in the 3rd quarter valued at about $164,000. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Brady in the 4th quarter valued at about $208,000. Fox Run Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in Brady in the 3rd quarter valued at about $209,000. Finally, Ifrah Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Brady in the 3rd quarter valued at about $213,000. Institutional investors own 76.28% of the company's stock.

Brady Stock Performance

Shares of BRC stock traded up $0.20 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $60.56. 239,548 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 178,362. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $59.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $58.51. The company has a current ratio of 2.13, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. Brady Co. has a 52-week low of $46.77 and a 52-week high of $63.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.76.

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

Brady Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 9th were paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 8th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.55%. Brady's payout ratio is currently 24.54%.

Insider Transactions at Brady

In related news, Director Elizabeth P. Bruno sold 8,322 shares of Brady stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.33, for a total value of $477,100.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 333,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,124,886.69. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Elizabeth P. Bruno sold 8,322 shares of Brady stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.33, for a total value of $477,100.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 333,593 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,124,886.69. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Elizabeth P. Bruno sold 5,000 shares of Brady stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.70, for a total transaction of $298,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 328,593 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,617,002.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 39,017 shares of company stock worth $2,283,667 in the last quarter. Insiders own 15.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Brady from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th.

About Brady

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.