Savvy Advisors Inc. Raises Stake in Medtronic PLC (NYSE:MDT)

Savvy Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Medtronic PLC (NYSE:MDT) by 15.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,931 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $982,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Commerce Bank lifted its stake in Medtronic by 1.7% in the first quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 145,984 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $13,118,000 after acquiring an additional 2,429 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Medtronic by 1,368.0% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 39,989 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $3,194,000 after acquiring an additional 37,265 shares during the period. Oxford Asset Management LLP lifted its stake in Medtronic by 70.1% in the fourth quarter. Oxford Asset Management LLP now owns 7,442 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $594,000 after acquiring an additional 3,068 shares during the period. New Vernon Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Medtronic by 304.9% in the fourth quarter. New Vernon Investment Management LLC now owns 29,613 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $2,425,000 after acquiring an additional 22,300 shares during the period. Finally, Insight Inv LLC lifted its stake in Medtronic by 84.2% in the first quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 27,456 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $2,467,000 after acquiring an additional 12,550 shares during the period. 82.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Medtronic Stock Performance

MDT opened at $92.94 on Friday. Medtronic PLC has a 52-week low of $79.29 and a 52-week high of $96.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The company has a market cap of $119.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.80. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $88.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $87.93.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The medical technology company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.04. Medtronic had a net margin of 13.90% and a return on equity of 14.54%. The company had revenue of $8.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.46 EPS. Medtronic’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Medtronic PLC will post 5.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Medtronic Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th were issued a $0.71 dividend. This is a boost from Medtronic’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 27th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio is currently 78.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $105.00 to $101.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Medtronic to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Medtronic in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Leerink Partners began coverage on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Monday, June 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $110.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Medtronic from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $98.19.

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.