Clark Capital Management Group Inc. Invests $7.71 Million in Brady Co. (NYSE:BRC)

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Brady Co. (NYSE:BRC - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 104,437 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $7,713,000. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. owned about 0.22% of Brady at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 314 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 518 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in Brady by 19.1% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 893 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Brady in the 4th quarter valued at $96,000. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in Brady by 84.2% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,789 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $132,000 after purchasing an additional 818 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.28% of the company's stock.

Brady Price Performance

Shares of BRC stock traded up $0.16 on Friday, reaching $73.46. The company's stock had a trading volume of 159,950 shares, compared to its average volume of 246,677. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Brady Co. has a 12-month low of $59.84 and a 12-month high of $77.68. The company has a market capitalization of $3.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.05 and a beta of 0.86. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $69.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $72.41.

Brady (NYSE:BRC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 21st. The industrial products company reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.03 by ($0.03). Brady had a return on equity of 19.79% and a net margin of 14.19%. The business had revenue of $356.68 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $359.21 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.93 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Brady Co. will post 4.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brady Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.31%. Brady's dividend 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.