Brady (NYSE:BRC) Trading Down 2.4% - Time to Sell?

Shares of Brady Co. (NYSE:BRC - Get Free Report) fell 2.4% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $73.46 and last traded at $73.78. 150,404 shares changed hands 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com lowered Brady from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th.

Brady Price Performance

The company's 50 day simple moving average is $74.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $71.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.21 and a beta of 0.77.

Brady (NYSE:BRC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $377.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $365.88 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.00 EPS. Brady's revenue for the quarter was up 13.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Brady Co. will post 4.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brady Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.30%. Brady's dividend payout ratio is 23.59%.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 value of $1,590,938.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 102,150 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,691,895. This represents a 17.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Thomas F. Debruine sold 2,851 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.77, for a total value of $216,020.27. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 9,727 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $737,014.79. This trade represents a 22.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 15.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BRC. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Brady by 39.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,658,925 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $203,753,000 after buying an additional 753,092 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Brady by 143.1% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 266,981 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $20,459,000 after acquiring an additional 157,149 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in Brady by 1,121.9% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 159,668 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $12,235,000 after purchasing an additional 146,601 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP increased its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its stake in shares of Brady by 23.5% in the 2nd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 560,274 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $36,631,000 after purchasing an additional 106,652 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.