Hsbc Holdings PLC Trims Holdings in Brady Co. (NYSE:BRC)

Hsbc Holdings PLC reduced its stake in shares of Brady Co. (NYSE:BRC) by 15.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,368 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,560 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Brady were worth $551,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. TD Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in Brady in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,819,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its holdings in shares of Brady by 73.0% in the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 140,954 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,273,000 after purchasing an additional 59,488 shares during the period. Dean Capital Management grew its stake in Brady by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Dean Capital Management now owns 37,412 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,196,000 after purchasing an additional 1,979 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP purchased a new position in Brady during the 4th quarter worth $632,000. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Brady by 9.5% during the 1st quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,478 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $740,000 after purchasing an additional 1,082 shares in the last quarter. 76.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com raised Brady from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th.

Brady Trading Up 1.8 %

NYSE:BRC opened at $76.60 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $72.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.32. Brady Co. has a one year low of $51.35 and a one year high of $76.97. The firm has a market cap of $3.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.54, a P/E/G ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a current ratio of 2.27.

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

Brady Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This is a positive change from Brady’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Brady’s payout ratio is 24.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Russell Shaller sold 12,547 shares of Brady stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.08, for a total value of $916,934.76. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 102,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,520,297.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, COO Thomas F. Debruine sold 2,851 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.77, for a total transaction of $216,020.27. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 9,727 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $737,014.79. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Russell Shaller sold 12,547 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.08, for a total value of $916,934.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 102,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,520,297.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 45,262 shares of company stock worth $3,371,231. 15.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.