Covidien plc (NYSE:COV) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share on Friday, May 3rd. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.59%.

COV has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Analysts at RBC Capital raised their price target on shares of Covidien plc from $66.00 to $69.00 in a research note to investors on Wednesday. They now have a “sector perform” rating on the stock. On the ratings front, analysts at Atlantic Securities initiated coverage on shares of Covidien plc in a research note to investors on Wednesday, March 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $75.00 price target on the stock. Finally, analysts at TheStreet reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Covidien plc in a research note to investors on Tuesday, March 5th.

Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Covidien plc presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.80.

Covidien plc (NYSE: COV) opened at 65.50 on Thursday. Covidien plc has a 1-year low of $50.25 and a 1-year high of $66.20. The stock’s 50-day moving average is currently $63.6. The company has a market cap of $30.919 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.65.

Covidien plc (NYSE: COV) last released its earnings data on Friday, January 25th. The company reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.00 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.13 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Covidien plc will post $4.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Covidien Public Limited Company is engaged in the development, manufacture and sale of healthcare products for use in clinical and home settings.

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