Brady (NYSE:BRC) Sets New 12-Month High at $76.83

Brady Co. (NYSE:BRC - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $76.83 and last traded at $76.53, with a volume of 20327 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $75.96.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com raised Brady from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday.

Brady Trading Up 0.0 %

The company's 50 day moving average price is $72.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $65.87. The firm has a market cap of $3.61 billion, a PE ratio of 19.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

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

Brady Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.26%. This is an increase from Brady's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Brady's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.49%.

Insider Activity

In other Brady news, CEO Russell Shaller sold 12,547 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.08, for a total value of $916,934.76. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 102,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,520,297.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Brady news, CEO Russell Shaller sold 12,547 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.08, for a total value of $916,934.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 102,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,520,297.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, General Counsel Andrew Gorman sold 8,736 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.10, for a total transaction of $647,337.60. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 10,140 shares in the company, valued at $751,374. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 15.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Aristides Capital LLC grew its stake in Brady by 7.2% in the second quarter. Aristides Capital LLC now owns 4,343 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $287,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel bought a new stake in shares of Brady in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,104,000. Quarry LP grew its position in shares of Brady by 36.1% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 962 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning raised its stake in shares of Brady by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 10,277 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $679,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its position in Brady by 7.4% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 98,589 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $6,509,000 after acquiring an additional 6,772 shares during the last quarter. 76.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.