Dividend Aristocrat Medtronic (MDT) will raise its quarterly dividend by 8.6 percent to 63 cents per share in 2021. This comes after a dividend hike of 7.4 percent to $0.58 per share in 2020. Today's announcement marks the 44th consecutive year of dividend increases by the medical technology company.

Medtronic today announced that on May 26, 2021, the Medtronic board of directors approved an increase in Medtronic's cash dividend for the first quarter of fiscal year 2022, raising the quarterly amount to $0.63 per ordinary share. This would translate into an annual amount of $2.52 per ordinary share, a 9 percent increase from the prior $2.32. Medtronic has a long history of dividend growth, and the company is a constituent of the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats index. Today's announcement marks the 44th consecutive year of an increase in the dividend payment. Including today's increase, Medtronic's dividend per share has grown 47 percent over the past 5 years and has grown at a 16 percent compounded annual growth rate over the past 44 years.

Medtronic has a strong track record of returning capital to its shareholders, including returning $3.3 billion in fiscal year 2021. The company remains committed to returning a minimum of 50 percent of its free cash flow to shareholders, primarily through dividends, and to a lesser extent, share repurchases. The dividend is payable on July 16, 2021, to shareholders of record at the close of business on June 25, 2021. A new annual dividend rate of $2.52 per share yields 2% at at stock price of $126.27 for Medtronic.

"We're pleased to be able to increase our dividend by 9% during the pandemic," said Martha. "Today's dividend increase is a strong sign of our commitment to providing robust returns for our shareholders and of the confidence that our Board of Directors has in Medtronic's financial strength and future growth opportunities."

Medtronic plc, headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, is a medical technology, services, and solutions company.  The company has four operating segments that primarily develop, manufacture, distribute, and sell device-based medical therapies and services: Cardiac and Vascular Group, Minimally Invasive Therapies Group, Restorative Therapies Group and Diabetes Group. The company's primary customers include hospitals, clinics, third-party health care providers, distributors, and other institutions, including governmental health care programs and group purchasing organizations (GPOs). Medtronic was founded in 1949 and has paid a dividend every year since 1977.