Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Increases Position in Medtronic PLC (NYSE:MDT)

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Medtronic PLC by 17.8%, acquiring 1,088,827 shares, bringing its total ownership to 7,199,553 shares valued at approximately $646.95 million.
• Medtronic recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.71 per share, representing an increase from the previous dividend of $0.70, with an annual yield of 3.2%.
• Analyst ratings for Medtronic indicate a general consensus of "Moderate Buy," with an average target price of $98.19 and various ratings from investment firms suggesting a positive outlook on the stock.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Medtronic PLC (NYSE:MDT - Free Report) by 17.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,199,553 shares of the medical technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,088,827 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned about 0.56% of Medtronic worth $646,952,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its stake in Medtronic by 17.2% in the 1st quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 847 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. 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, Motco raised its position in Medtronic by 27.0% in the first quarter. Motco now owns 635 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. 82.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Medtronic Stock Performance

MDT traded up $1.70 on Friday, reaching $92.94. The company had a trading volume of 6,636,861 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,924,519. Medtronic PLC has a 1 year low of $79.29 and a 1 year high of $96.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $119.13 billion, a PE ratio of 25.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $88.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $87.93.

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, 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 firm had revenue of $8.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.46 earnings per share. Medtronic's quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Medtronic PLC will post 5.46 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. This is a boost from Medtronic's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 27th. Medtronic's dividend payout ratio is presently 78.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on MDT shares. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Medtronic from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target 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. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Medtronic in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Medtronic from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Medtronic from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $98.19.

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.