Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC Boosts Position in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC grew its stake in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 15.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 10,367 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,360 shares during the period. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $828,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its stake in Medtronic by 37.8% during the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 4,870 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $449,000 after acquiring an additional 1,337 shares during the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC acquired a new stake in Medtronic during the third quarter worth about $280,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in Medtronic by 5.0% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 784,567 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $70,635,000 after acquiring an additional 37,089 shares during the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Medtronic by 9.9% during the third quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 45,600 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $4,105,000 after acquiring an additional 4,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Medtronic by 12.1% during the third quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 28,920 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $2,604,000 after acquiring an additional 3,120 shares during the last quarter. 82.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup upgraded Medtronic from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $92.00 to $107.00 in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Medtronic from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. UBS Group increased 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. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Medtronic from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Medtronic 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 given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Medtronic currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $96.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 40,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,688,110. This trade represents a 23.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Medtronic Trading Down 1.3 %

NYSE:MDT opened at $93.09 on Wednesday. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $87.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $87.63. Medtronic plc has a 52 week low of $75.96 and a 52 week high of $95.57. The company has a market cap of $119.40 billion, a PE ratio of 28.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.84.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The medical technology company reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping 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, analysts predict that Medtronic plc will post 5.46 EPS for the current year.

Medtronic Dividend Announcement

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

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.