Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) Stake Boosted by Prudential Financial Inc.

Prudential Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 97.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 680,217 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after buying an additional 335,430 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $54,336,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Medtronic by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 124,203,387 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $9,921,367,000 after acquiring an additional 754,395 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Medtronic by 0.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 60,731,367 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $5,509,155,000 after purchasing an additional 520,027 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Medtronic in the fourth quarter valued at $852,732,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Medtronic by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 9,792,200 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $782,201,000 after buying an additional 28,910 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Medtronic by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,002,051 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $639,204,000 after buying an additional 134,647 shares in the last quarter. 82.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Medtronic Price Performance

NYSE MDT opened at $90.16 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $90.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $88.05. Medtronic plc has a twelve month low of $75.96 and a twelve month high of $96.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $115.64 billion, a PE ratio of 27.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.90.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The medical technology company reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.03. Medtronic had a return on equity of 14.07% and a net margin of 12.83%. The company had revenue of $8.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.33 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Medtronic plc will post 5.46 EPS for the current year.

Medtronic Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MDT. 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. Citigroup raised shares of Medtronic from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $92.00 to $107.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Medtronic from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $96.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Medtronic news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 12,437 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 40,979 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,688,110. This trade represents a 23.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Medtronic Company Profile

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.