R Squared Ltd Purchases Shares of 11,450 Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 11,450 shares of the medical technology company's stock, valued at approximately $915,000. Medtronic makes up about 0.9% of R Squared Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 7th largest holding.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Creative Planning raised its position in shares of Medtronic by 6.6% during 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 boosted 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 valued at $9,672,000 after purchasing an additional 8,127 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Medtronic in the 2nd quarter worth about $118,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Medtronic by 47.2% during the 2nd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,255 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $965,000 after buying an additional 3,931 shares during the period. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted 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 valued at $3,095,000 after buying an additional 868 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Medtronic

In related news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 9,850 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 40,708 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,273,330.28. The trade was a 19.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Medtronic Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of Medtronic stock traded down $1.26 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $90.74. 7,214,570 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,136,039. 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. Medtronic plc has a 52 week low of $75.96 and a 52 week high of $93.08. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $84.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $86.00. 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 (NYSE:MDT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The medical technology company reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) 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 return on equity of 13.79% and a net margin of 13.00%. The company's revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.25 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Medtronic plc will post 5.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Medtronic Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.09%. Medtronic's dividend payout ratio is presently 85.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MDT shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Medtronic from $106.00 to $98.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Medtronic from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the company from $98.00 to $105.00 in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on Medtronic from $96.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Barclays increased their price objective on Medtronic from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Medtronic in a research note on Monday, November 18th. One investment 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average 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.