Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc. Raises Holdings in Brady Co. (NYSE:BRC)

Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc. increased its stake in Brady Co. (NYSE:BRC) by 50.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 54,509 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,228 shares during the quarter. Brady accounts for 2.6% of Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc. owned about 0.11% of Brady worth $4,025,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Andina Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Brady by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Andina Capital Management LLC now owns 5,718 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $422,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Brady by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,938 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $143,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. Creative Planning lifted its position in shares of Brady by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 10,472 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $802,000 after buying an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Brady by 0.4% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 54,396 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,168,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the period. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in shares of Brady by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 3,755 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $288,000 after buying an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.28% of the company’s stock.

Brady Price Performance

BRC stock traded down $0.22 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $75.67. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 15,720 shares, compared to its average volume of 214,923. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.55 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Brady Co. has a 12 month low of $56.09 and a 12 month high of $77.68. The company has a 50 day moving average of $74.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.42.

Brady (NYSE:BRC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 18th. The industrial products company reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.02. Brady had a net margin of 14.19% and a return on equity of 19.79%. The business had revenue of $377.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $365.88 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.00 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Brady Co. will post 4.55 EPS for the current 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 1.27%. Brady’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Brady 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.