Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC Boosts Stake in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 6.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,902 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 393 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $569,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in Medtronic by 9.2% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 23,777,808 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $1,863,229,000 after purchasing an additional 1,994,123 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Medtronic by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,622,933 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $1,067,493,000 after buying an additional 285,819 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Medtronic by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,988,289 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $843,979,000 after acquiring an additional 79,660 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Medtronic by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 10,297,135 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $806,883,000 after acquiring an additional 649,367 shares during the period. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its position in Medtronic by 10.8% in the third quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 6,088,880 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $477,125,000 after acquiring an additional 592,849 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.06% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Medtronic Stock Performance

MDT stock opened at $81.56 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $108.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.78. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $83.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.69. The company has a current ratio of 2.30, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Medtronic plc has a 12-month low of $68.84 and a 12-month high of $91.00.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The medical technology company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.04. The company 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 firm’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.30 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Medtronic plc will post 5.2 EPS for the current year.

Medtronic Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Investors of record on Friday, March 22nd were given a dividend of $0.69 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 21st. This represents a $2.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.38%. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio is currently 87.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.