Brady Corporation manufactures warning signs like these worldwide. Photo courtesy Michael Schubart/flickr.com.
About Brady Corporation
Brady Corporation manufactures identification and workplace safety products for customers around the world. The company serves a variety of markets, including healthcare, industrial and electronic manufacturing, chemical production, and the food and beverage industries. The company has 7,200 employees worldwide and is celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2014.
Brady has two primary business segments: Identification Solutions (IDS) and Workplace Safety (WPS). IDS produces identification and high performance signage, including wristbands and labels used in hospitals, custom wristbands used at theme parks, concerts and festivals, labeling systems and lockout/tagout devices. The bulk of the IDS products are produced under the Brady brand, but other trademarked brands the company owns include Electromark and Identicard. The IDS segment produces about two-thirds of Brady’s sales and over 70% of its profits. 70% of segment sales were within in the Americas, while the remaining 30% was split between the Europe, Middle East and Africa, and Asia-Pacific regions.
The WPS segment produces safety and compliance products, including first aid supplies, asset identification tags and traffic signs. About 50% of the segment sales were in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region, with the Americas and Asia-Pacific regions accounting for 30% and 20% of segment sales, respectively. WPS has a variety of brand names that are used to market its products; among these are Emedco (safety & facility identification), Securimed (first aid supplies), Runelandhs (office equipment) and Carroll (wire identification).
Brady Corporation is a member of the S&P Mid Cap 400 index and trades under the ticker symbol BRC.
Brady Corporation’s Dividend and Stock Split History
Brady Corporation has increased its dividend payout since 1986. The company traditionally increases dividends in the 4th quarter of the calendar year, announcing them in September, with the stock going ex-dividend in October.
The company has two classes of shares. The Class A shares are publicly traded, but are non-voting shares, while the Class B shares do not trade publicly but have 100% of the voting rights. The company must pay 1.665 cents per Class A share annually before paying any other dividends. After that, dividends are split equally between the Class A and Class B shares.
Brady has compounded its payout at an average rate of 2.3% over the last 5 years and 4.4% over the last 10 years.
Since beginning its record of dividend growth, Brady has split its stock three times: a 2-for-one split in November 1986, a 3-for-1 split in December 1995, and a 2-for-1 split in January 2005.
Brady Corporation’s Direct Purchase and Dividend Reinvestment Plans
Brady Corporation has both direct purchase and dividend reinvestment plans. You must be a current shareholder in order to participate in either plan. This will require purchasing your initial shares through a broker, and then transferring them into the plan. The dividend reinvestment plan does not allow you to reinvest part of your dividends – you must either reinvest all or none of them.
Overall, the fee structure of the plans is favorable to investors. There are no fees when purchasing shares, either directly or through dividend reinvestment. When you make additional purchases through the direct purchase plan, you must invest at least $100.
You’ll only be charged fess when you sell your shares. The sales fee is between $15 and $30, depending on the type of sell order you place, and you’ll also pay a commission of 12 cents per share. To have the proceeds directly deposited to your account, you’ll pay an additional fee of $5. All fees will be deducted from the sales proceeds.
Helpful Links
Brady Corporation’s Investor Relations Website
Current quote and financial summary for Brady Corporation (finviz.com)
Information on the direct purchase and dividend reinvestment plans for Brady Corporation