As a dividend-growth investor, robust payout hikes tend to get my attention. This is because strong dividend hikes are a sign from management that it hasn't forgotten about its shareholders.

With its market capitalization just over $1 billion, most investors may not be aware of the medical-device maker named LeMaitre Vascular (NASDAQ: LMAT). But after the company announced a 12% raise in its quarterly dividend per share to $0.14 (its 10th straight year of dividend growth since it started paying a dividend), this arguably deserves to change. Here's why the vascular medical-device manufacturer may deserve to be on your radar as a dividend-growth investor.

LeMaitre may not be a household name among investors. But in niche markets within the peripheral vascular disease (PVD) medical-devices space, vascular surgeons know the company quite well. LeMaitre has the highest or second-highest share in nine of the 12 medical device markets it operates in. These include its valvulotomes, carotid shunts, angioscopes, and occlusion catheters to name just a few of LeMaitre's leading products.

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Source Fool.com