Simon Quick Advisors LLC Raises Position in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

Simon Quick Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 35.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,160 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after buying an additional 1,353 shares during the period. Simon Quick Advisors LLC’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $412,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in Medtronic in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Medtronic in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Medtronic in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. J. Stern & Co. LLP purchased a new stake in Medtronic during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Chelsea Counsel Co. acquired a new position in Medtronic during the third quarter worth about $45,000. 82.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on MDT. 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. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Monday, November 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Medtronic from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Medtronic from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $95.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 9,850 shares of Medtronic stock in a transaction on 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 owns 40,708 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,273,330.28. This trade represents a 19.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Medtronic Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MDT opened at $89.30 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $83.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $85.39. Medtronic plc has a 52 week low of $75.96 and a 52 week high of $92.68. The company has a market cap of $114.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.83. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The medical technology company reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.01. Medtronic had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 13.79%. The company had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.25 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast 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 of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.14%. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.63%.

Medtronic 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.