Brady (NYSE:BRC) Stock Price Down 2.4% – Should You Sell?

Brady Co. (NYSE:BRC)’s stock price traded down 2.4% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $73.46 and last traded at $73.78. 150,404 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 45% from the average session volume of 275,608 shares. The stock had previously closed at $75.56.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Brady Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $3.58 billion, a PE ratio of 18.42 and a beta of 0.77. 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $74.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $71.76.

Brady (NYSE:BRC) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 18th. The industrial products company reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.02. Brady had a return on equity of 19.79% and a net margin of 14.19%. The company had revenue of $377.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $365.88 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.00 EPS. Brady’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Brady Co. will post 4.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brady Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.28%. Brady’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Brady news, COO Thomas F. Debruine sold 2,851 shares of Brady stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.77, for a total value 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 trade was a 22.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Russell Shaller sold 21,128 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.30, for a total value of $1,590,938.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 102,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,691,895. This trade represents a 17.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 15.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brady

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BRC. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Brady by 65.3% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 663 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd grew its position in shares of Brady by 161.4% in the third quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 651 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares during the period. Quarry LP increased its stake in shares of Brady by 36.1% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 962 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Brady during the 2nd quarter worth about $119,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Brady by 91.1% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,754 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $134,000 after buying an additional 836 shares in the last quarter. 76.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.