Financial Counselors Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Medtronic PLC (NYSE:MDT)

Financial Counselors Inc. raised its holdings in Medtronic PLC (NYSE:MDT - Free Report) by 10.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 222,150 shares of the medical technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 21,207 shares during the quarter. Financial Counselors Inc.'s holdings in Medtronic were worth $19,962,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its position in Medtronic by 17.2% in the first quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 847 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. Cidel Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Medtronic by 1.3% in the first quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,531 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $856,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. Petros Family Wealth LLC raised its position in Medtronic by 4.3% in the first quarter. Petros Family Wealth LLC now owns 3,111 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $280,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. Faithward Advisors LLC raised its position in Medtronic by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Faithward Advisors LLC now owns 5,043 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $403,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. Finally, Vestor Capital LLC raised its position in Medtronic by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vestor Capital LLC now owns 51,375 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $4,104,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.06% of the company's stock.

Medtronic Stock Up 0.6%

NYSE MDT traded up $0.54 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $89.12. 4,673,089 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,992,860. The stock has a market cap of $114.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $85.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $86.71. Medtronic PLC has a 1 year low of $76.33 and a 1 year high of $96.25.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $8.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.81 billion. Medtronic had a return on equity of 14.54% and a net margin of 13.90%. Medtronic's revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.46 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be issued a $0.71 dividend. This is an increase from Medtronic's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 27th. Medtronic's payout ratio is presently 78.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MDT shares. Wolfe Research raised Medtronic from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Medtronic from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Medtronic from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Medtronic from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Medtronic from $94.00 to $92.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Medtronic has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $97.47.

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.