Essex Financial Services Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Medtronic PLC (NYSE:MDT)

Essex Financial Services Inc. grew its position in Medtronic PLC (NYSE:MDT - Free Report) by 27.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,675 shares of the medical technology company's stock after buying an additional 3,350 shares during the quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc.'s holdings in Medtronic were worth $1,409,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Medtronic by 1,368.0% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 39,989 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $3,194,000 after acquiring an additional 37,265 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Medtronic during the fourth quarter valued at $13,132,000. BlueStem Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Medtronic during the fourth quarter valued at $341,000. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Medtronic by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 3,528 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $282,000 after acquiring an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Maia Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Medtronic by 43.5% during the fourth quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 3,340 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $267,000 after acquiring an additional 1,013 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on MDT shares. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Medtronic from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Leerink Partners assumed coverage on Medtronic in a research note on Monday, June 16th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $110.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised Medtronic from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 21st. Citigroup raised shares of 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. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $97.87.

Medtronic Price Performance

Medtronic stock opened at $86.19 on Monday. Medtronic PLC has a 52-week low of $75.96 and a 52-week high of $96.25. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $84.82 and a 200-day moving average of $86.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $110.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.81, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 21st. The medical technology company reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.04. Medtronic had a net margin of 13.90% and a return on equity of 14.54%. The company had revenue of $8.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.46 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Medtronic PLC will post 5.46 EPS for the current year.

Medtronic Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be given 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 positive change from Medtronic's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Medtronic's dividend payout ratio is presently 78.45%.

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.

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