Dividend Aristocrat Medtronic (MDT) will raise its quarterly dividend by 7.9 percent to 68 cents per share in 2022. This comes after a dividend hike of 8.6 percent to 63 cents per share in 2021 and marks the 45th consecutive year of dividend increases by the medical technology company.

A new annual dividend rate of $2.72 per share yields 2.7% at at stock price of $100 for Medtronic. The company today announced that effective May 25, 2022, the Medtronic board of directors approved an increase in Medtronic's cash dividend for the first quarter of fiscal year 2023, raising the quarterly amount to $0.68 per ordinary share. This would translate into an annual amount of $2.72 per ordinary share, an 8% increase from the prior $2.52. 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 45th consecutive year of an increase in the dividend payment. Including today's increase, Medtronic's dividend per share has grown by 48% over the past 5 years and has grown at a 16% compounded annual growth rate over the past 45 years.

Medtronic has a strong track record of returning capital to its shareholders, including $5.5 billion in fiscal year 2022. 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 15, 2022, to shareholders of record at the close of business on June 24, 2022.

"Our substantial dividend increase reflects the confidence of our Board of Directors and executive management in Medtronic's financial strength and future earnings power," said Martha. "We've increased our dividend for the past 45 years and growing our dividend is an important component of the total return we generate for our shareholders."

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.