Blue Trust Inc. Has $1.41 Million Stake in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT - Free Report) by 39.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,678 shares of the medical technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,962 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.'s holdings in Medtronic were worth $1,412,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in Medtronic by 6.6% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 247,061 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $19,446,000 after purchasing an additional 15,305 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Medtronic by 7.1% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 122,880 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $9,672,000 after buying an additional 8,127 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Medtronic in the 2nd quarter valued at about $118,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Medtronic by 47.2% during the 2nd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,255 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $965,000 after buying an additional 3,931 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its stake in Medtronic by 2.3% during the second quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 39,421 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $3,095,000 after acquiring an additional 868 shares during the period. 82.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Medtronic Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MDT traded down $1.26 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $90.74. 7,214,570 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,136,039. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $84.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $86.00. The company has a market cap of $116.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.84. Medtronic plc has a 52 week low of $75.96 and a 52 week high of $93.08.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The medical technology company reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.27 billion. Medtronic had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 13.79%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.25 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Medtronic plc will post 5.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Medtronic Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. Medtronic's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.63%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 9,850 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.41, for a total transaction of $792,038.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 40,708 shares in the company, valued at $3,273,330.28. The trade was a 19.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MDT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Medtronic in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Medtronic from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $98.00 to $105.00 in a report on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Medtronic from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Medtronic from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Medtronic from $96.00 to $93.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $95.00.

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.