Granite Group Advisors LLC Acquires 1,097 Shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

Granite Group Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 4.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 28,316 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,097 shares during the quarter. Medtronic accounts for 1.4% of Granite Group Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Granite Group Advisors LLC’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $2,262,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Copley Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Medtronic during the third quarter valued at $694,000. Olstein Capital Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Medtronic by 19.2% in the third quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 87,000 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $7,833,000 after acquiring an additional 14,000 shares during the period. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC lifted its holdings in Medtronic by 32.6% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC now owns 73,517 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $5,873,000 after acquiring an additional 18,057 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its holdings in Medtronic by 322.6% in the third quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 73,593 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $6,626,000 after acquiring an additional 56,178 shares during the period. Finally, Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in Medtronic by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 278,065 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $22,212,000 after acquiring an additional 16,786 shares during the period. 82.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised Medtronic from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $98.00 to $105.00 in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays increased their target price on Medtronic from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Medtronic from $106.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Medtronic in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Medtronic from $96.00 to $93.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $95.00.

Medtronic Stock Performance

NYSE:MDT opened at $90.07 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Medtronic plc has a 12-month low of $75.96 and a 12-month high of $92.68. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $83.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $85.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $115.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.83.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The medical technology company reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.01. Medtronic had a return on equity of 13.79% and a net margin of 13.00%. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.25 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Medtronic plc will post 5.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Medtronic Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th were paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. Medtronic’s payout ratio is 85.63%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 9,850 shares of Medtronic stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.41, for a total value of $792,038.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 40,708 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,273,330.28. The trade was a 19.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Medtronic Profile

Medtronic plc develops, manufactures, and sells device-based medical therapies to healthcare systems, physicians, clinicians, and patients worldwide. Its Cardiovascular Portfolio segment offers implantable cardiac pacemakers, cardioverter defibrillators, and cardiac resynchronization therapy devices; cardiac ablation products; insertable cardiac monitor systems; TYRX products; and remote monitoring and patient-centered software.