William Blair Investment Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Brady Co. (NYSE:BRC)

William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Brady Co. (NYSE:BRC) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 467,564 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 11,316 shares during the quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned 0.98% of Brady worth $34,530,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Brady by 213.6% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 461 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 314 shares during the period. Point72 DIFC Ltd increased its holdings in Brady by 161.4% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 651 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Brady by 378.1% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 655 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 518 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in Brady by 19.1% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 893 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Brady during the 4th quarter worth approximately $96,000. 76.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Brady Price Performance

BRC stock opened at $71.52 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Brady Co. has a 52-week low of $56.81 and a 52-week high of $77.68. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $72.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.80. The company has a market capitalization of $3.42 billion, a PE ratio of 17.57 and a beta of 0.72.

Brady (NYSE:BRC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 21st. The industrial products company reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.03 by ($0.03). Brady had a return on equity of 19.79% and a net margin of 14.19%. The business had revenue of $356.68 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $359.21 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.93 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Brady Co. will post 4.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brady Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 9th will be given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 9th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. Brady’s payout ratio is 24.00%.

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.