Aurora Investment Counsel Invests $2.10 Million in Brady Co. (NYSE:BRC)

Aurora Investment Counsel purchased a new position in Brady Co. (NYSE:BRC) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 31,863 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,104,000. Brady makes up about 1.2% of Aurora Investment Counsel’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quarry LP raised 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 valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning raised its holdings in Brady by 2.6% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 10,277 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $679,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its holdings in Brady by 7.4% in 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 in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in Brady by 231.8% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 132,019 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,716,000 after acquiring an additional 92,228 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in Brady by 151.7% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 13,351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $881,000 after acquiring an additional 8,047 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.28% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Russell Shaller sold 12,547 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, 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 transaction of $216,020.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 9,727 shares in the company, valued at $737,014.79. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Russell Shaller sold 12,547 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.08, for a total transaction of $916,934.76. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 102,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,520,297.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 45,262 shares of company stock valued at $3,371,231 over the last quarter. Insiders own 15.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Brady from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th.

Brady Price Performance

Shares of BRC opened at $76.60 on Tuesday. Brady Co. has a 52 week low of $51.35 and a 52 week high of $76.97. The company has a current ratio of 2.27, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The firm has a market cap of $3.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.54, a PEG ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.76. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $72.53 and a 200-day moving average of $66.32.

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

Brady Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This is a positive change from Brady’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.25%. Brady’s dividend payout ratio is 24.49%.

Brady 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.