Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $15.64 Million Stake in Brady Co. (NYSE:BRC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in Brady Co. (NYSE:BRC) by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 204,091 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 12,470 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Brady were worth $15,639,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Brady by 65.3% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 663 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Brady by 337.1% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 918 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 708 shares during the period. Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of Brady by 36.1% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 962 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Brady in the 1st quarter valued at about $66,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in Brady in the 2nd quarter valued at about $119,000. Institutional investors own 76.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Brady Stock Performance

Shares of Brady stock opened at $74.18 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.23, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.76. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $74.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 2.27 and a quick ratio of 1.69. Brady Co. has a fifty-two week low of $52.68 and a fifty-two week high of $77.68.

Brady (NYSE:BRC) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. Brady had a net margin of 14.70% and a return on equity of 19.84%. The company had revenue of $343.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $351.74 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.04 earnings per share. Brady’s revenue was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Brady Co. will post 4.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brady Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, General Counsel Andrew Gorman sold 8,736 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.10, for a total transaction of $647,337.60. Following the sale, the general counsel now owns 10,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $751,374. This trade represents a 46.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Russell Shaller sold 21,128 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.30, for a total transaction of $1,590,938.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 102,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,691,895. This represents a 17.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 45,262 shares of company stock worth $3,371,231 in the last quarter. Insiders own 15.60% of the company’s stock.

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.