Argent Trust Co Raises Stock Position in Medtronic PLC (NYSE:MDT)

Key Points

• Argent Trust Co has increased its stake in Medtronic PLC by 43.7% during the first quarter, holding a total of 80,496 shares worth approximately $7.23 million.
• Medtronic recently reported earnings of $1.62 per share for the last quarter, surpassing analyst estimates and showcasing a 3.9% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• The company has announced a dividend increase to $0.71 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of $2.84 and a dividend yield of 3.2%.

Argent Trust Co raised its position in shares of Medtronic PLC (NYSE:MDT - Free Report) by 43.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 80,496 shares of the medical technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 24,476 shares during the period. Argent Trust Co's holdings in Medtronic were worth $7,233,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Burkett Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in Medtronic by 185.0% during the first quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 285 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Medtronic during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Columbia River Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Medtronic during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Optiver Holding B.V. acquired a new stake in Medtronic during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Medtronic during the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. 82.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MDT. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Medtronic in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Medtronic to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Medtronic from $94.00 to $92.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Medtronic from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $98.19.

Medtronic Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of MDT stock traded up $1.84 during trading on Thursday, hitting $91.20. 2,902,903 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,636,062. Medtronic PLC has a twelve month low of $79.29 and a twelve month high of $96.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $116.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 1.85. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $88.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $87.88.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The medical technology company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.46 earnings per share. Medtronic's revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Medtronic PLC will post 5.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Medtronic Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 27th were paid a $0.71 dividend. This is a boost from Medtronic's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 27th. Medtronic's payout ratio is currently 78.45%.

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.