Vanguard Group Inc. Raises Stake in Brady Co. (NYSE:BRC)

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Brady Co. (NYSE:BRC - Free Report) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,215,225 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 31,096 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 10.92% of Brady worth $385,144,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of BRC. LPL Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Brady during the 4th quarter worth $318,000. Fox Run Management L.L.C. lifted its holdings in Brady by 134.6% during the 4th quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. now owns 7,062 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $522,000 after buying an additional 4,052 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of Brady during the 4th quarter worth about $1,669,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its holdings in shares of Brady by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 148,941 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $10,999,000 after acquiring an additional 12,531 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners increased its stake in Brady by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 386,407 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $28,564,000 after purchasing an additional 18,766 shares during the last quarter. 76.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Brady Stock Performance

Shares of BRC stock traded down $2.47 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $64.06. 323,165 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 251,372. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $72.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $73.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.84. Brady Co. has a 12-month low of $57.89 and a 12-month high of $77.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.74 and a beta of 0.75.

Brady (NYSE:BRC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 21st. The industrial products company reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.03 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $356.68 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $359.21 million. Brady had a net margin of 14.19% and a return on equity of 19.79%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.93 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Brady Co. will post 4.55 EPS for the current year.

Brady Dividend Announcement

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 given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 9th. Brady's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.00%.

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.