Cetera Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

Cetera Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 63.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 83,977 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 32,564 shares during the period. Cetera Advisors LLC’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $7,319,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MDT. Equity Investment Corp increased its holdings in shares of Medtronic by 27.9% in the 4th quarter. Equity Investment Corp now owns 1,341,079 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $110,478,000 after acquiring an additional 292,459 shares during the period. Loudon Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Medtronic by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Loudon Investment Management LLC now owns 10,026 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $786,000 after purchasing an additional 874 shares during the last quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. raised its holdings in Medtronic by 1,467.5% in the first quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. now owns 47,902 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $4,175,000 after purchasing an additional 44,846 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Medtronic by 8,340.3% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,038,579 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $85,558,000 after buying an additional 1,026,274 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Medtronic by 43.0% in the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 50,804 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $4,185,000 after buying an additional 15,265 shares during the last quarter. 82.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Medtronic Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MDT traded up $1.02 during trading on Friday, hitting $81.51. The stock had a trading volume of 5,057,940 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,335,373. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Medtronic plc has a 12-month low of $68.84 and a 12-month high of $89.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $104.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.82. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $80.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $82.64.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 23rd. The medical technology company reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.01. Medtronic had a net margin of 11.36% and a return on equity of 13.47%. The company had revenue of $8.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.57 EPS. Medtronic’s quarterly revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Medtronic plc will post 5.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Medtronic Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This is an increase from Medtronic’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 28th. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 101.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MDT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Medtronic from $102.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Medtronic in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $83.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Medtronic from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Medtronic from $90.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Medtronic in a report on Friday, May 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.90.

Insider Buying and Selling at Medtronic

In other news, CEO Geoffrey Martha sold 19,113 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.77, for a total value of $1,601,096.01. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 143,348 shares in the company, valued at $12,008,261.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company 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.