E Fund Management Co. Ltd. Boosts Stock Position in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

E Fund Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 13.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,617 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 434 shares during the period. E Fund Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $298,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in Medtronic during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Medtronic in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Medtronic by 317.0% in the third quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 367 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Medtronic in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Hartford Financial Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Medtronic by 52.1% during the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 479 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. 82.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho boosted their price target on Medtronic from $95.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Medtronic from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $92.00 price objective on shares of Medtronic in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Medtronic from $89.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Medtronic presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.91.

Medtronic Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MDT traded up $1.21 on Thursday, hitting $82.76. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,545,600 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,155,512. The company has a market capitalization of $109.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 2.30. Medtronic plc has a 12 month low of $68.84 and a 12 month high of $91.00. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $82.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.69.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The medical technology company reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.04. Medtronic had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 13.71%. The company had revenue of $8.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.95 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.30 EPS. Medtronic’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Medtronic plc will post 5.2 EPS for the current year.

Medtronic Dividend Announcement

The company 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. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 21st. Medtronic’s payout ratio is currently 87.90%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Michael Marinaro sold 854 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 owns 27,925 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,321,684.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Medtronic news, EVP Michael Marinaro sold 854 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.14, for a total transaction of $71,001.56. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,925 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,321,684.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sean Salmon sold 30,695 shares of the company’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 transaction of $2,613,065.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 48,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,110,842.57. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.