Argyle Capital Management LLC Boosts Stake in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

Argyle Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 7.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,660 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,610 shares during the period. Argyle Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $2,928,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MDT. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Medtronic by 436.7% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 7,343,385 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $661,125,000 after purchasing an additional 5,975,110 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of Medtronic by 2,043.4% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,598,150 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $207,540,000 after buying an additional 2,476,935 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in shares of Medtronic by 65.0% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 4,546,819 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $406,122,000 after buying an additional 1,790,483 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of Medtronic by 58.4% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,850,914 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $346,705,000 after buying an additional 1,420,263 shares during the period. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Medtronic by 5,124.5% during the 3rd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 1,035,708 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $93,245,000 after acquiring an additional 1,015,884 shares in the last quarter. 82.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Medtronic Stock Performance

NYSE MDT opened at $90.67 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $86.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $87.35. The company has a market capitalization of $116.26 billion, a PE ratio of 27.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.84. Medtronic plc has a 1 year low of $75.96 and a 1 year high of $93.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.39.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The medical technology company reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $8.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.33 billion. Medtronic had a return on equity of 14.07% and a net margin of 12.83%. As a group, analysts expect that Medtronic plc will post 5.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Medtronic Announces Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.09%. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.11%.

Insider Activity

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on MDT shares. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Medtronic from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of Medtronic from $96.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Medtronic from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Medtronic from $106.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Medtronic from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Medtronic presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $95.00.

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.