Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. Buys 7,543 Shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 192,382 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after buying an additional 7,543 shares during the quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $15,848,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of Medtronic in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Medtronic by 293.0% during the fourth quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 316,643 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 236,064 shares during the period. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Medtronic during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Medtronic by 317.0% in the third quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 367 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 279 shares during the period. Finally, Hartford Financial Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. 82.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on MDT. UBS Group upped their price objective on Medtronic from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Medtronic from $95.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $92.00 price objective on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Friday. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Medtronic from $89.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Medtronic from $102.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $94.45.

Insider Transactions at Medtronic

In other news, EVP Michael Marinaro sold 854 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,925 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,321,684.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Medtronic Stock Up 1.1 %

Medtronic stock opened at $82.29 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm has a market cap of $109.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.78. The business has a fifty day moving average of $82.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $82.75. Medtronic plc has a twelve month low of $68.84 and a twelve month high of $91.00.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 23rd. The medical technology company reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.01. Medtronic had a return on equity of 13.47% and a net margin of 11.36%. The company had revenue of $8.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.57 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Medtronic plc will post 5.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Medtronic Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This is a positive change from Medtronic’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. Medtronic’s payout ratio is currently 100.36%.

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.