Clearbridge Investments LLC Grows Stake in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 2.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 595,995 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after buying an additional 16,105 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $51,941,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Equity Investment Corp increased its position in shares of Medtronic by 27.9% during the fourth quarter. Equity Investment Corp now owns 1,341,079 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $110,478,000 after purchasing an additional 292,459 shares in the last quarter. Loudon Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Medtronic by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Loudon Investment Management LLC now owns 10,026 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $786,000 after purchasing an additional 874 shares during the last quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. boosted its holdings in Medtronic by 1,467.5% in the first quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co. now owns 47,902 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $4,175,000 after purchasing an additional 44,846 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Medtronic by 8,340.3% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,038,579 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $85,558,000 after purchasing an additional 1,026,274 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Medtronic by 43.0% in the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 50,804 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $4,185,000 after purchasing an additional 15,265 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.06% of the company’s stock.

Medtronic Stock Performance

Shares of Medtronic stock traded up $0.11 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $79.41. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,022,897 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,335,852. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $80.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $83.00. The firm has a market cap of $101.83 billion, a PE ratio of 28.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.82. Medtronic plc has a 52 week low of $68.84 and a 52 week high of $91.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 23rd. The medical technology company reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $8.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.44 billion. Medtronic had a return on equity of 13.47% and a net margin of 11.36%. The firm’s revenue was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.57 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Medtronic plc will post 5.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Medtronic Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 28th. This is a positive change from Medtronic’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.53%. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 101.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Medtronic news, CEO Geoffrey Martha sold 19,113 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.77, for a total value of $1,601,096.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 143,348 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,008,261.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on MDT. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Medtronic in a report on Friday, May 24th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $92.00 price target on shares of Medtronic in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Medtronic from $102.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Medtronic from $90.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Medtronic from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $90.90.

Medtronic 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.