Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc. Buys 18,228 Shares of Brady Co. (NYSE:BRC)

Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Brady Co. (NYSE:BRC) by 50.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 54,509 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 18,228 shares during the period. Brady makes up 2.6% of Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Brady were worth $4,025,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Point72 DIFC Ltd boosted its position in Brady by 161.4% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 651 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its position in Brady by 36.1% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 962 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Brady by 91.1% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,754 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $134,000 after purchasing an additional 836 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Brady by 84.2% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,789 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $132,000 after buying an additional 818 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Brady by 10,983.3% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,995 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $153,000 after acquiring an additional 1,977 shares in the last quarter. 76.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Brady Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE:BRC traded down $0.22 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $75.67. 15,720 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 214,923. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.84. The company has a market capitalization of $3.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.55 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a fifty day moving average of $74.34 and a 200 day moving average of $73.42. Brady Co. has a twelve month low of $56.09 and a twelve month high of $77.68.

Brady (NYSE:BRC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 18th. The industrial products company reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $377.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $365.88 million. Brady had a net margin of 14.19% and a return on equity of 19.79%. Brady’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.00 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Brady Co. will post 4.55 EPS for the current year.

Brady Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.27%. Brady’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.59%.

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.