Naviter Wealth LLC Grows Stock Position in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

Naviter Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 19.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,473 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after buying an additional 3,120 shares during the quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $1,569,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in Medtronic by 20.1% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 29,635 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $2,367,000 after buying an additional 4,960 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its stake in shares of Medtronic by 174.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 894,086 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $75,994,000 after acquiring an additional 568,107 shares in the last quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. acquired a new stake in shares of Medtronic during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,534,000. Aviance Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Medtronic by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,376 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $350,000 after purchasing an additional 396 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AMG National Trust Bank raised its holdings in Medtronic by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 2,760 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $220,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the period. 82.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Medtronic Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of Medtronic stock opened at $94.58 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $88.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $87.80. The stock has a market cap of $121.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.80. Medtronic plc has a 1-year low of $75.96 and a 1-year high of $95.57.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The medical technology company reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $8.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.33 billion. Medtronic had a return on equity of 14.07% and a net margin of 12.83%. Analysts predict that Medtronic plc will post 5.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Medtronic Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on MDT. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Medtronic from $106.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Medtronic in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Medtronic from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $96.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Medtronic news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 9,850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.41, for a total transaction of $792,038.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 40,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,273,330.28. This trade represents a 19.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.