Rockland Trust Co. Boosts Stake in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

Rockland Trust Co. raised its position in shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,781 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after buying an additional 504 shares during the quarter. Rockland Trust Co.’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $1,261,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MDT. Copley Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Medtronic in the 3rd quarter worth $694,000. Olstein Capital Management L.P. grew its position 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 worth $7,833,000 after acquiring an additional 14,000 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC increased its stake in Medtronic by 32.6% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC now owns 73,517 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $5,873,000 after acquiring an additional 18,057 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd increased its stake in Medtronic by 322.6% during the third quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 73,593 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $6,626,000 after acquiring an additional 56,178 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Medtronic during the third quarter valued at approximately $9,486,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.06% of the company’s stock.

Medtronic Trading Up 4.1 %

MDT opened at $85.16 on Wednesday. Medtronic plc has a 52 week low of $75.96 and a 52 week high of $92.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $83.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $85.01. The company has a market capitalization of $109.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.04, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.83.

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

Medtronic Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th were issued 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 3.29%. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Medtronic

In related news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 9,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.41, for a total transaction of $792,038.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 40,708 shares in the company, valued at $3,273,330.28. The trade was a 19.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MDT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays boosted their target price on Medtronic from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Medtronic in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Medtronic from $96.00 to $93.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Medtronic from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $106.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $95.00.

About Medtronic

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.