Brady Corporation (NYSE:BRC) Holdings Raised by Heartland Advisors Inc.

Key Points

• Heartland Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Brady Corporation by 14.2%, owning approximately 136,108 shares valued at $9.6 million as of the end of the recent quarter.
• Brokerages have upgraded Brady's stock rating, with Wall Street Zen moving it from "hold" to "buy," and Sidoti issuing a "strong-buy" rating.
• Brady Corporation announced a quarterly dividend of $0.24, payable on July 31st, representing an annualized yield of 1.37% and a payout ratio of 23.76%.

Heartland Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Brady Corporation (NYSE:BRC - Free Report) by 14.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 136,108 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 16,881 shares during the quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.28% of Brady worth $9,615,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Brady by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,215,225 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $385,144,000 after purchasing an additional 31,096 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Brady by 40.4% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,733,810 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $275,742,000 after acquiring an additional 1,074,885 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Brady by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,443,594 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $106,608,000 after acquiring an additional 7,258 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Brady by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,152,340 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $85,100,000 after acquiring an additional 22,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Brady by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 686,923 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $50,729,000 after acquiring an additional 60,737 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.28% of the company's stock.

Brady Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of BRC traded up $0.71 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $70.78. The company had a trading volume of 204,669 shares, compared to its average volume of 234,479. The company's 50 day moving average price is $69.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $70.67. The stock has a market cap of $3.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.52 and a beta of 0.79. Brady Corporation has a 52 week low of $62.70 and a 52 week high of $77.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

Brady (NYSE:BRC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 16th. The industrial products company reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22. The business had revenue of $382.59 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $386.61 million. Brady had a net margin of 13.35% and a return on equity of 19.57%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.09 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Brady Corporation will post 4.55 EPS for the current year.

Brady Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. Brady's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Sidoti raised shares of Brady to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Brady from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th.

Brady Company 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.