Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Reduces Stock Holdings in Brady Co. (NYSE:BRC)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lessened its stake in Brady Co. (NYSE:BRC) by 59.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 108,286 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 158,695 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.23% of Brady worth $7,997,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Brady by 39.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,658,925 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $203,753,000 after purchasing an additional 753,092 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Brady by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,510,180 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $99,701,000 after buying an additional 24,786 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Brady by 7.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 658,093 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $50,445,000 after acquiring an additional 45,206 shares in the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its position in shares of Brady by 2.9% during the third quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 618,841 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $47,422,000 after acquiring an additional 17,682 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royce & Associates LP boosted its holdings in Brady by 27.1% in the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 555,792 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,590,000 after purchasing an additional 118,557 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.28% of the company’s stock.

Brady Price Performance

BRC opened at $73.53 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.84. Brady Co. has a 1-year low of $56.09 and a 1-year high of $77.68. The company has a 50-day moving average of $74.21 and a 200-day moving average of $72.94. The company has a market capitalization of $3.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.07 and a beta of 0.77.

Brady (NYSE:BRC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 18th. The industrial products company reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.02. Brady had a return on equity of 19.79% and a net margin of 14.19%. The firm had revenue of $377.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $365.88 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.00 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Brady Co. will post 4.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brady Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Brady’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.