Yahoo Finance Just Four Days Till Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) Will Be Trading Ex-Dividend
Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next 4 days. The ex-dividend date is usually set to be one business day before the record date which is the cut-off date on which you must be present on the company's books as a shareholder in order to receive the dividend. The ex-dividend date is important because any transaction on a stock needs to have been settled before the record date in order to be eligible for a dividend. In other words, investors can purchase Medtronic's shares before the 24th of June in order to be eligible for the dividend, which will be paid on the 16th of July.
The company's next dividend payment will be US$0.63 per share, and in the last 12 months, the company paid a total of US$2.52 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that Medtronic has a trailing yield of 2.0% on the current share price of $123.23. We love seeing companies pay a dividend, but it's also important to be sure that laying the golden eggs isn't going to kill our golden goose! We need to see whether the dividend is covered by earnings and if it's growing.
View our latest analysis for Medtronic
If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. It paid out 87% of its earnings as dividends last year, which is not unreasonable, but limits reinvestment in the business and leaves the dividend vulnerable to a business downturn. We'd be worried about the risk of a drop in earnings. Yet cash flow is typically more important than profit for assessing dividend sustainability, so we should always check if the company generated enough cash to afford its dividend. It paid out more than half (64%) of its free cash flow in the past year, which is within an average range for most companies.
It's positive to see that Medtronic's dividend is covered by both profits and cash flow, since this is generally a sign that the dividend is sustainable, and a lower payout ratio usually suggests a greater margin of safety before the dividend gets cut.
Click here to see the company's payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends.
Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?
Companies that aren't growing their earnings can still be valuable, but it is even more important to assess the sustainability of the dividend if it looks like the company will struggle to grow. If business enters a downturn and the dividend is cut, the company could see its value fall precipitously. With that in mind, we're not enthused to see that Medtronic's earnings per share have remained effectively flat over the past five years. It's better than seeing them drop, certainly, but over the long term, all of the best dividend stocks are able to meaningfully grow their earnings per share. A high payout ratio of 87% generally happens when a company can't find better uses for the cash. Combined with slim earnings growth in the past few years, Medtronic could be signalling that its future growth prospects are thin.
Another key way to measure a company's dividend prospects is by measuring its historical rate of dividend growth. Since the start of our data, 10 years ago, Medtronic has lifted its dividend by approximately 11% a year on average.
Final Takeaway
Has Medtronic got what it takes to maintain its dividend payments? Earnings per share have barely grown, and although Medtronic paid out over half its earnings and free cash flow last year, the payout ratios are within a normal range for most companies. In summary, while it has some positive characteristics, we're not inclined to race out and buy Medtronic today.
However if you're still interested in Medtronic as a potential investment, you should definitely consider some of the risks involved with Medtronic. For example, we've found 1 warning sign for Medtronic that we recommend you consider before investing in the business.
We wouldn't recommend just buying the first dividend stock you see, though. Here's a list of interesting dividend stocks with a greater than 2% yield and an upcoming dividend.
This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
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