Entropy Technologies LP Buys New Holdings in Brady Co. (NYSE:BRC)

Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new position in Brady Co. (NYSE:BRC) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 4,457 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $342,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Brady by 0.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,307,191 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $314,610,000 after buying an additional 32,437 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Brady by 1.7% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,510,180 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $99,701,000 after acquiring an additional 24,786 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its holdings in shares of Brady by 23.5% during the second quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 560,274 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,631,000 after purchasing an additional 106,652 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Brady by 20.8% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 479,057 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,710,000 after purchasing an additional 82,438 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Brady by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 381,845 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $25,209,000 after purchasing an additional 16,469 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.28% of the company’s stock.

Brady Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE:BRC opened at $74.21 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $74.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $69.89. The stock has a market cap of $3.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.23, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 2.27, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Brady Co. has a 12 month low of $52.68 and a 12 month high of $77.68.

Brady (NYSE:BRC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, September 6th. The industrial products company reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.08. Brady had a return on equity of 19.84% and a net margin of 14.70%. The business had revenue of $343.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $351.74 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.04 EPS. The business’s revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Brady Co. will post 4.55 EPS for the current year.

Brady Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.29%. This is a positive change from Brady’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. Brady’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.59%.

Insider Activity at Brady

In other Brady news, COO Thomas F. Debruine sold 2,851 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.77, for a total transaction of $216,020.27. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 9,727 shares in the company, valued at approximately $737,014.79. This trade represents a 22.67 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Russell Shaller sold 12,547 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.08, for a total transaction of $916,934.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 102,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,520,297.40. This represents a 10.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 45,262 shares of company stock valued at $3,371,231 in the last three months. Company insiders own 15.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com lowered Brady from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th.

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.