Smartleaf Asset Management LLC Increases Position in Brady Co. (NYSE:BRC)

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Brady Co. (NYSE:BRC) by 213.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 461 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 314 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Brady were worth $34,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BRC. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Brady by 39.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,658,925 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $203,753,000 after buying an additional 753,092 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of Brady by 1,121.9% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 159,668 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,235,000 after purchasing an additional 146,601 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP raised its holdings in shares of Brady by 27.1% in the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 555,792 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,590,000 after purchasing an additional 118,557 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Brady by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 390,396 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,916,000 after purchasing an additional 54,264 shares during the period. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in shares of Brady by 38.6% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 183,041 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $14,026,000 after purchasing an additional 51,022 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.28% of the company’s stock.

Brady Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE:BRC opened at $69.61 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.33 billion, a PE ratio of 17.10 and a beta of 0.72. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $73.13 and its 200 day moving average is $73.87. Brady Co. has a 12 month low of $56.81 and a 12 month high of $77.68.

Brady (NYSE:BRC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 21st. The industrial products company reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.03 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $356.68 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $359.21 million. Brady had a return on equity of 19.79% and a net margin of 14.19%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.93 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Brady Co. will post 4.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Brady Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.38%. Brady’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.