Brady (NYSE:BRC) Shares Gap Down - Here's What Happened

Brady Co. (NYSE:BRC - Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $74.21, but opened at $70.65. Brady shares last traded at $69.85, with a volume of 71,289 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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 Down 5.4 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 2.27 and a quick ratio of 1.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.76. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $74.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $70.05.

Brady (NYSE:BRC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, September 6th. The industrial products company reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $343.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $351.74 million. Brady had a net margin of 14.70% and a return on equity of 19.84%. Brady's quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.04 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Brady Co. will post 4.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Brady Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This is an increase from Brady's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. Brady's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brady

In other news, General Counsel Andrew Gorman sold 8,736 shares of Brady stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 10,140 shares of the company's stock, valued at $751,374. The trade was a 46.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Russell Shaller sold 21,128 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.30, for a total transaction of $1,590,938.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 102,150 shares in the company, valued at $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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 45,262 shares of company stock worth $3,371,231. Insiders own 15.60% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brady

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Swedbank AB raised its stake in shares of Brady by 54.4% during the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 350,000 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $23,107,000 after buying an additional 123,296 shares during the period. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new position in Brady during the first quarter valued at $438,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Brady by 36.8% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 42,038 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,493,000 after purchasing an additional 11,309 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Brady by 1,135.8% during the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 65,211 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,305,000 after purchasing an additional 59,934 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royce & Associates LP raised its position in shares of Brady by 27.1% during the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 555,792 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $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.

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.