Advocate Group LLC Purchases 3,255 Shares of Medtronic PLC (NYSE:MDT)

Advocate Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Medtronic PLC (NYSE:MDT - Free Report) by 3.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 110,031 shares of the medical technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,255 shares during the period. Medtronic makes up approximately 1.8% of Advocate Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Advocate Group LLC's holdings in Medtronic were worth $9,887,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TCTC Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Medtronic by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 39,718 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $3,173,000 after buying an additional 1,301 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Medtronic by 1,368.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 39,989 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $3,194,000 after buying an additional 37,265 shares during the last quarter. Oxford Asset Management LLP boosted its stake in shares of Medtronic by 70.1% in the 4th quarter. Oxford Asset Management LLP now owns 7,442 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $594,000 after buying an additional 3,068 shares during the last quarter. New Vernon Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Medtronic by 304.9% in the 4th quarter. New Vernon Investment Management LLC now owns 29,613 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $2,425,000 after buying an additional 22,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisor OS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Medtronic by 152.0% in the 4th quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 11,800 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $943,000 after buying an additional 7,118 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.06% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MDT. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Medtronic from $94.00 to $92.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Truist Financial cut their target price on Medtronic from $93.00 to $90.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Medtronic to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Medtronic in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded 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 note on Tuesday, March 4th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Medtronic has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $97.87.

Medtronic Stock Performance

MDT stock traded up $0.57 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $86.30. 13,076,756 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,911,259. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $84.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $86.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 1.85. Medtronic PLC has a 52 week low of $75.96 and a 52 week high of $96.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $110.68 billion, a PE ratio of 23.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.79.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The medical technology company reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.04. Medtronic had a net margin of 13.90% and a return on equity of 14.54%. The business had revenue of $8.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.46 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Medtronic PLC will post 5.46 EPS for the current year.

Medtronic Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be issued a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 27th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.29%. This is a boost from Medtronic's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Medtronic's dividend payout ratio is presently 77.35%.

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.