Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) Shares Purchased by Ieq Capital LLC

Ieq Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT - Free Report) by 61.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 100,586 shares of the medical technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 38,131 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC's holdings in Medtronic were worth $8,035,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of MDT. Keene & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Medtronic by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Keene & Associates Inc. now owns 39,649 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $3,167,000 after buying an additional 708 shares during the period. Financial Perspectives Inc lifted its stake in Medtronic by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc now owns 227,096 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $18,140,000 after acquiring an additional 5,261 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its holdings in Medtronic by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 28,836 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $2,303,000 after acquiring an additional 617 shares in the last quarter. Northcape Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Medtronic by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. Northcape Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,829 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $1,903,000 after purchasing an additional 2,565 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new stake in shares of Medtronic in the 4th quarter valued at about $256,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Medtronic

In related news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 12,437 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $1,119,330.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 40,979 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,688,110. This trade represents a 23.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Medtronic Stock Performance

Medtronic stock traded up $2.01 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $89.95. 11,762,886 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,605,718. Medtronic plc has a 1 year low of $75.96 and a 1 year high of $93.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $115.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.84. 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 firm's 50 day moving average price is $85.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $87.03.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The medical technology company reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.03. Medtronic had a return on equity of 14.07% and a net margin of 12.83%. The firm had revenue of $8.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.33 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that Medtronic plc will post 5.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Medtronic Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th were paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.11%. Medtronic's payout ratio is currently 85.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on MDT shares. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on Medtronic from $96.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Medtronic from $106.00 to $98.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Medtronic from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $95.20.

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.