Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) Shares Bought by KBC Group NV

KBC Group NV grew its stake in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT - Free Report) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 684,260 shares of the medical technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 29,981 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV owned about 0.05% of Medtronic worth $54,658,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MDT. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new position in Medtronic during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Medtronic during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Medtronic during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. J. Stern & Co. LLP purchased a new position in Medtronic during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new position in Medtronic during the 4th quarter worth $40,000. 82.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 12,437 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total value of $1,119,330.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 40,979 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,688,110. This represents a 23.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on MDT. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Medtronic from $96.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Barclays lifted their price target on Medtronic from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Medtronic from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Medtronic from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Medtronic from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Medtronic presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $95.00.

Medtronic Price Performance

NYSE:MDT traded down $0.34 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $92.13. 7,961,015 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,070,874. Medtronic plc has a 52-week low of $75.96 and a 52-week high of $93.08. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $83.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $85.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a market cap of $118.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.83.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.27 billion. Medtronic had a return on equity of 13.79% and a net margin of 13.00%. Medtronic's quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.25 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Medtronic plc will post 5.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Medtronic Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th were given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.04%. Medtronic's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.63%.

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.