Brady Co. (NYSE:BRC) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of Brady Co. (NYSE:BRC - Free Report) by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 204,091 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 12,470 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.43% of Brady worth $15,639,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Brady by 65.3% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 663 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 262 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Brady by 337.1% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 918 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 708 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in Brady by 36.1% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 962 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the period. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in Brady during the 1st quarter worth $66,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Brady during the 2nd quarter worth about $119,000. 76.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Brady

In related news, General Counsel Andrew Gorman sold 8,736 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. This trade represents a 46.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Thomas F. Debruine sold 2,851 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 9,727 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $737,014.79. This represents a 22.67 % decrease in their position. 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. 15.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Brady Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:BRC traded down $0.46 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $74.21. The stock had a trading volume of 172,417 shares, compared to its average volume of 271,674. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.23, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.76. The firm's 50 day moving average is $74.36 and its 200-day moving average is $69.89. Brady Co. has a 1 year low of $52.68 and a 1 year high of $77.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a current ratio of 2.27.

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

Brady Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.29%. This is a boost from Brady's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Brady's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.59%.

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.