Merit Financial Group LLC Purchases 17,831 Shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

Merit Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT - Free Report) by 327.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 23,270 shares of the medical technology company's stock after buying an additional 17,831 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Medtronic were worth $1,859,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Medtronic by 1.2% during the third quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 9,558 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $861,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Medtronic by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 13,131 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $1,182,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. First PREMIER Bank increased its holdings in Medtronic by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 6,417 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $577,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. First City Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Medtronic by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. First City Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,123 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $371,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hardy Reed LLC boosted its stake in Medtronic by 4.4% in the third quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 2,743 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $247,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MDT shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Medtronic from $106.00 to $98.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Medtronic from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Medtronic from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $95.00.

Medtronic Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE MDT traded up $0.27 on Tuesday, reaching $88.35. The company had a trading volume of 5,108,434 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,182,559. The stock's 50 day moving average is $83.64 and its 200-day moving average is $85.29. Medtronic plc has a 52 week low of $75.96 and a 52 week high of $92.68. The stock has a market cap of $113.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.02, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.27 billion. Medtronic had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 13.79%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.25 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Medtronic plc will post 5.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Medtronic Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Medtronic

In other news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 9,850 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 40,708 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,273,330.28. This represents a 19.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

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.