St. Jude Beefs up Dividend - Analyst Blog
February 29 2012 - 10:15AM
Zacks
Medical technology major
St. Jude (STJ) has bumped up its quarterly
dividend to 23 cents a share from 21 cents, representing a 10%
hike. This lifts the annual dividend to 92 cents per share from the
current payout of 84 cents and equates to a dividend yield of
roughly 2.2%. The revised quarterly dividend is payable on April
30, 2012, to shareholders of record as on March 30, 2012.
St. Jude’s Board, in February 2011,
approved the commencement of a regular quarterly cash dividend. The
company paid the initial quarterly dividend (of 21 cents a share)
on April 29, 2011.
Moreover, the Minnesota-based
company’s Board, in December 2011, authorized a new share buyback
program, allowing it to repurchase up to $300 million of its common
stock. St. Jude completed, during third-quarter 2011, the $500
million repurchase program announced in August 2011.
St. Jude remains confident that it
has reached a level where it can return value to investors in the
form of dividends while continuing to invest in growth programs
along with share repurchases and acquisitions.
St. Jude’s revenues and earnings
for fourth-quarter fiscal 2011 beat the Zacks Consensus Estimates.
Revenues rose 4% in the quarter, fueled by double-digit growth
across the company’s Cardiovascular, Atrial Fibrillation and
Neuromodulation franchises.
St. Jude is consistently producing
revenue growth and positive earnings surprises over the past
several quarters. We are impressed by its solid fundamentals,
healthy growth trajectory, strong product mix, robust pipeline and
cost management initiatives.
While a host of new growth drivers
(including new products and emerging markets) are expected to boost
results in 2012 and beyond, we remain cautious about increased
competition, a still soft CRM market and the dilutive impact of
acquisitions.
A still choppy CRM space overhangs
on St. Jude and its peers Medtronic (MDT) and
Boston Scientific (BSX). Our long-term Neutral
recommendation on St. Jude is in agreement with a short-term Zacks
#3 Rank (Hold).
BOSTON SCIENTIF (BSX): Free Stock Analysis Report
MEDTRONIC (MDT): Free Stock Analysis Report
ST JUDE MEDICAL (STJ): Free Stock Analysis Report
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Zacks Investment Research
SJM (NYSE:STJ)
Historical Stock Chart
From May 2024 to Jun 2024
SJM (NYSE:STJ)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jun 2023 to Jun 2024