Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) Position Boosted by Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV

Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV increased its position in shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT - Free Report) by 13.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 50,775 shares of the medical technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,942 shares during the quarter. Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV's holdings in Medtronic were worth $4,056,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MDT. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in Medtronic in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Medtronic in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Medtronic during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. J. Stern & Co. LLP acquired a new position in Medtronic in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new position in Medtronic in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Medtronic news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 9,850 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $3,273,330.28. This trade represents a 19.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Medtronic Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of MDT stock traded up $1.79 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $87.19. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,265,684 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,385,615. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $111.80 billion, a PE ratio of 26.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.83. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $83.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $85.01. Medtronic plc has a 12-month low of $75.96 and a 12-month high of $92.68.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The medical technology company reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.01. Medtronic had a return on equity of 13.79% and a net margin of 13.00%. The company had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.27 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.25 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Medtronic plc will post 5.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Medtronic Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th were given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. Medtronic's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Medtronic from $96.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Medtronic from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Medtronic from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Royal Bank of Canada raised Medtronic from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $98.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Medtronic from $106.00 to $98.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine 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, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $95.00.

Medtronic Company 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.