Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. Buys New Stake in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 3,427 shares of the medical technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $282,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hartford Financial Management Inc. raised its holdings in Medtronic by 425.0% in the 3rd quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 315 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in Medtronic during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. grew its position in shares of Medtronic by 293.0% in the 4th quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 316,643 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 236,064 shares in the last quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Medtronic by 317.0% during the third quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 367 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Princeton Global Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Medtronic in the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Medtronic

In other news, EVP Sean Salmon sold 30,695 shares of Medtronic stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.13, for a total value of $2,613,065.35. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 48,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,110,842.57. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Michael Marinaro sold 854 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.14, for a total value of $71,001.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,925 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,321,684.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Sean Salmon sold 30,695 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.13, for a total value of $2,613,065.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 48,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,110,842.57. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Medtronic from $89.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Medtronic from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $92.00 target price on shares of Medtronic in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Medtronic from $95.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.91.

Medtronic Stock Performance

MDT traded up $0.31 during trading on Friday, hitting $79.50. 6,756,866 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,961,242. The firm has a market cap of $105.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 2.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Medtronic plc has a one year low of $68.84 and a one year high of $92.02. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $83.93 and its 200 day moving average is $81.01.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The medical technology company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $8.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.95 billion. Medtronic had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 13.71%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.30 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Medtronic plc will post 5.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Medtronic Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Investors of record on Friday, March 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.69 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 21st. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.47%. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 87.90%.

Medtronic Company 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.