Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) Shares Acquired by Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 20.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 11,614 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after buying an additional 1,955 shares during the quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $928,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MDT. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC increased its position in Medtronic by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 9,558 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $861,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Medtronic by 0.9% during the third quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 13,131 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $1,182,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. First PREMIER Bank raised its position in Medtronic by 1.8% in the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 6,417 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $577,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. First City Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Medtronic by 2.9% in the third quarter. First City Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,123 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $371,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. Finally, Hardy Reed LLC boosted its position in shares of Medtronic by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 2,743 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $247,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. 82.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 9,850 shares of Medtronic stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.41, for a total value of $792,038.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 40,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,273,330.28. The trade was a 19.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Medtronic Price Performance

MDT stock opened at $92.13 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $118.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.83. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $83.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $85.73. Medtronic plc has a 52-week low of $75.96 and a 52-week high of $93.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.27 billion. Medtronic had a return on equity of 13.79% and a net margin of 13.00%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.25 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Medtronic plc will post 5.45 EPS for the current year.

Medtronic Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.04%. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $96.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Barclays boosted their price target on Medtronic from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Medtronic from $96.00 to $93.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Medtronic from $106.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Monday, November 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.