Foster & Motley Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

Foster & Motley Inc. increased its position in shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 30.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 32,643 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after buying an additional 7,567 shares during the period. Foster & Motley Inc.’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $2,608,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in Medtronic during the third quarter worth $27,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Medtronic during the third quarter worth $27,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Medtronic during the third quarter worth $27,000. J. Stern & Co. LLP purchased a new stake in Medtronic during the third quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Chelsea Counsel Co. purchased a new stake in Medtronic during the third quarter worth $45,000. 82.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Medtronic Price Performance

Medtronic stock opened at $92.01 on Friday. Medtronic plc has a 12-month low of $75.96 and a 12-month high of $93.08. The stock has a market cap of $117.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.14, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $84.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $85.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The medical technology company reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 13.79%. Medtronic’s revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.25 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Medtronic plc will post 5.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Medtronic Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.63%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Medtronic news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 9,850 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 40,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,273,330.28. This trade represents a 19.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MDT shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Medtronic from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $98.00 to $105.00 in a report on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $96.00 to $93.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $96.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $93.00 to $89.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Medtronic currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.