Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Grows Stake in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,002,051 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 134,647 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $639,204,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Copley Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Medtronic in the third quarter worth $694,000. Olstein Capital Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Medtronic by 19.2% in the 3rd quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 87,000 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $7,833,000 after acquiring an additional 14,000 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC boosted its stake in shares of Medtronic by 32.6% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC now owns 73,517 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $5,873,000 after purchasing an additional 18,057 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its holdings in Medtronic by 322.6% during the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 73,593 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $6,626,000 after purchasing an additional 56,178 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank raised its position in Medtronic by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 278,065 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $22,212,000 after purchasing an additional 16,786 shares during the period. 82.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Medtronic

In other Medtronic news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 12,437 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 40,979 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,688,110. This trade represents a 23.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Medtronic Stock Performance

Shares of MDT stock opened at $93.09 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $87.57 and its 200 day moving average is $87.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market cap of $119.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.30, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.84. Medtronic plc has a 52-week low of $75.96 and a 52-week high of $95.57.

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

Medtronic Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MDT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays boosted their target price on Medtronic from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Citigroup raised Medtronic from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $92.00 to $107.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of Medtronic from $96.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $106.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Medtronic currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $96.07.

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.