Heartland Advisors Inc. Buys Shares of 76,361 Brady Co. (NYSE:BRC)

Heartland Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Brady Co. (NYSE:BRC - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 76,361 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $4,720,000. Heartland Advisors Inc. owned 0.16% of Brady at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Brady by 422,030.0% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 856,924 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $50,293,000 after purchasing an additional 856,721 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Brady by 2,366.6% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 825,563 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $48,452,000 after buying an additional 792,094 shares during the period. Boston Partners lifted its position in shares of Brady by 2,520.6% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 465,465 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $27,441,000 after buying an additional 447,703 shares in the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lifted its position in shares of Brady by 65.5% during the 3rd quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 510,635 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $28,044,000 after buying an additional 202,099 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van Berkom & Associates Inc. grew its stake in shares of Brady by 18.9% during the 3rd quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. now owns 1,252,062 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $68,763,000 after acquiring an additional 198,805 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.28% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brady

In other Brady news, Director Elizabeth P. Bruno sold 8,322 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.33, for a total transaction of $477,100.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 333,593 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,124,886.69. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Brady news, Director Elizabeth P. Bruno sold 8,322 shares of Brady stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.33, for a total value of $477,100.26. Following the sale, the director now owns 333,593 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,124,886.69. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Nancy Lee Gioia sold 4,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.20, for a total value of $251,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,551 shares of the company's stock, valued at $683,819.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 39,017 shares of company stock worth $2,283,667. Insiders own 15.60% of the company's stock.

Brady Price Performance

NYSE:BRC traded up $0.19 on Friday, reaching $60.55. 239,548 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 324,166. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.46. Brady Co. has a 12 month low of $46.77 and a 12 month high of $63.02. The firm has a market cap of $2.93 billion, a PE ratio of 15.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Brady (NYSE:BRC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.01. Brady had a return on equity of 19.24% and a net margin of 14.08%. The firm had revenue of $322.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $339.61 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.81 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Brady Co. will post 4 earnings per share for the current year.

Brady Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 9th were paid a dividend of $0.235 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 8th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. Brady's payout ratio is 24.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Brady from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 26th.

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.