Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Acquires Shares of 40,158 Medtronic PLC (NYSE:MDT)

Key Points

• Banque Cantonale Vaudoise has acquired 40,158 shares of Medtronic PLC, valued at approximately $3,609,000, marking a new stake for the fund in Q1.
• Recent analyst reports have boosted prices for Medtronic, with Citigroup setting a new price target of $99.00 and Morgan Stanley raising theirs to $107.00, reflecting a generally positive outlook.
• Medtronic recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.71 per share, up from $0.70, which results in an annualized dividend yield of 3.07%.

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new stake in shares of Medtronic PLC (NYSE:MDT - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 40,158 shares of the medical technology company's stock, valued at approximately $3,609,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of Medtronic by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 33,203,685 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $2,652,310,000 after purchasing an additional 571,700 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Medtronic by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,056,217 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $2,155,085,000 after acquiring an additional 574,055 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Medtronic by 7.0% in the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 22,278,023 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $2,001,903,000 after purchasing an additional 1,461,841 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Medtronic by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 20,680,301 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $1,858,332,000 after purchasing an additional 756,192 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in shares of Medtronic by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 18,443,640 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $1,473,278,000 after purchasing an additional 372,168 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.06% of the company's stock.

Medtronic Stock Down 1.0%

Medtronic stock traded down $0.93 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $89.31. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,507,377 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,483,095. The stock has a market capitalization of $114.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.67, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.42. Medtronic PLC has a 52-week low of $79.29 and a 52-week high of $96.25. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $87.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $87.80.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The medical technology company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.04. Medtronic had a return on equity of 14.54% and a net margin of 13.90%. The company had revenue of $8.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.81 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.46 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Medtronic PLC will post 5.46 EPS for the current year.

Medtronic Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th were issued a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 27th. This is a boost from Medtronic's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Medtronic's payout ratio is presently 78.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MDT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup raised their price target on Medtronic from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Medtronic from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Medtronic to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Wolfe Research upgraded Medtronic from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $107.00 price objective (up from $98.00) on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Medtronic currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $98.19.

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.