Lazard Asset Management LLC Has $6.31 Million Stake in Brady Co. (NYSE:BRC)

Lazard Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Brady Co. (NYSE:BRC) by 15.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 85,424 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 15,340 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned 0.18% of Brady worth $6,307,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Brady by 213.6% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 461 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Brady by 378.1% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 655 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 518 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of Brady by 19.1% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 893 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Brady during the fourth quarter worth approximately $96,000. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Brady by 84.2% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,789 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $132,000 after purchasing an additional 818 shares during the period. 76.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Brady Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BRC opened at $76.07 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $69.99 and its 200-day moving average is $72.49. Brady Co. has a 1-year low of $59.84 and a 1-year high of $78.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The firm has a market cap of $3.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.69 and a beta of 0.86.

Brady (NYSE:BRC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 21st. The industrial products company reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.03 by ($0.03). Brady had a net margin of 14.19% and a return on equity of 19.79%. The business had revenue of $356.68 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $359.21 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.93 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Brady Co. will post 4.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Brady Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 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%. Brady’s payout ratio is 24.00%.

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.