Heartland Advisors Inc. Has $9.62 Million Stock Position in Brady Corporation (NYSE:BRC)

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. grew its holdings in shares of Brady Corporation (NYSE:BRC - Free Report) by 14.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 136,108 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 16,881 shares during the period. Heartland Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.28% of Brady worth $9,615,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of BRC. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Brady during the fourth quarter valued at $156,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Brady during the first quarter valued at $159,000. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Brady by 33.7% during the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,391 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $169,000 after purchasing an additional 602 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Brady by 99,900.0% during the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 3,000 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $211,000 after purchasing an additional 2,997 shares during the period. Finally, apricus wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Brady during the first quarter valued at $218,000. 76.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Brady Price Performance

BRC stock traded up $0.21 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $71.15. 20,159 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 232,383. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $70.67. Brady Corporation has a one year low of $62.70 and a one year high of $77.68. The company has a market cap of $3.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.61 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

Brady (NYSE:BRC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 16th. The industrial products company reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.22. Brady had a return on equity of 19.57% and a net margin of 13.35%. The business had revenue of $382.59 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $386.61 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.09 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Brady Corporation will post 4.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Brady Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.35%. Brady's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.