Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) Holdings Raised by Ameritas Advisory Services LLC

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT - Free Report) by 63.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,273 shares of the medical technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 10,975 shares during the quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Medtronic were worth $2,258,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MDT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Medtronic in a report on Monday, November 18th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Medtronic from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Barclays boosted their price target on Medtronic from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on Medtronic from $96.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. One 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $95.00.

Medtronic Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of MDT traded up $1.07 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $88.23. 9,577,939 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,401,241. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Medtronic plc has a 1-year low of $75.96 and a 1-year high of $92.68. The company has a market cap of $113.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $83.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $85.21.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The medical technology company reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.25 EPS. Medtronic's revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Medtronic plc will post 5.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Medtronic Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. Medtronic's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.63%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Medtronic news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 9,850 shares of the company'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 value of $792,038.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 40,708 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,273,330.28. This represents a 19.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.