Hedge fund interest is up 18% in this medical device company. The shares have a current dividend yield of 2.16%, paid quarterly.
Medtronic plc (MDT)
From Forbes Dividend Investor
Reasonably valued dividend-paying stocks with a long track record of raising the payout are the sweet spot in an uncertain market. Dividends have contributed to almost half of the stock market’s return since 1926 because of the compound growth they deliver when used to purchase additional shares of stock, like acorns that grow new oaks over time.
The wealth machine moves at an accelerated pace when a company consistently hikes its dividend year after year, through thick and thin–plagues, wars, bear markets, and recessions. Think of buying a $100 stock that pays $3 per year in dividends, a yield of 3% now, but if that dividend doubles over the next six years to $6, the yield on your original $100 cost doubles to 6%. Over the long-haul, stocks with a penchant for paying higher dividends can result in exceptional levels of retirement income, or a vehicle to keep on buying more stock, even if you stop putting money into your portfolio.
Medtronic pls (MDT) is a stalwart dividend-payer in good shape to survive near-term challenges and to reward shareholders longer term.
Fatalities from the COVID-19 virus now number in the thousands, but coronary artery disease and stroke are already major killers, together accounting for 15 million deaths per year worldwide.
Dublin, Ireland-based Medtronic earned $11.5 billion of its $31 billion in revenue over the past 12 months selling pacemakers and heart-related devices like defibrillators, replacement valves, and stents. The company also sells insulin pumps, tapping into a global market of half a billion diabetes patients around the world.
Revenue in 2020 is expected to grow 2.5% to $31.3 billion, earnings up 8% to $5.63 per share. The current quarterly dividend of $0.54 per share is up 163% from $0.205 per share in 2010.
John Dobosz, Forbes Dividend Investor, www.newsletters.forbes.com, 212-367-3388, March 5, 2020