Chesapeake Capital Corp IL Boosts Stake in Brady Co. (NYSE:BRC)

Chesapeake Capital Corp IL raised its position in Brady Co. (NYSE:BRC) by 27.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,613 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 2,098 shares during the period. Chesapeake Capital Corp IL’s holdings in Brady were worth $723,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Brady by 65.3% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 663 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Brady by 337.1% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 918 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 708 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its position in Brady by 36.1% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 962 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in Brady in the 1st quarter valued at about $66,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in Brady in the 2nd quarter valued at about $119,000. 76.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Thomas F. Debruine sold 2,851 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.77, for a total transaction of $216,020.27. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 9,727 shares in the company, valued at $737,014.79. This represents a 22.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Russell Shaller sold 12,547 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.08, for a total transaction of $916,934.76. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 102,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,520,297.40. This trade represents a 10.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 45,262 shares of company stock worth $3,371,231. 15.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Brady Stock Performance

Shares of Brady stock opened at $74.21 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.53 billion, a PE ratio of 18.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.76. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $74.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $69.89. 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $52.68 and a 1 year high of $77.68.

Brady (NYSE:BRC) last issued its earnings results on Friday, September 6th. The industrial products company reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $343.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $351.74 million. Brady had a net margin of 14.70% and a return on equity of 19.84%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.04 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Brady Co. will post 4.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brady Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 10th. This is a positive change from Brady’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Brady’s dividend payout ratio is 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.