HF Advisory Group LLC Acquires 4,873 Shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

HF Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT - Free Report) by 59.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,027 shares of the medical technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,873 shares during the period. HF Advisory Group LLC's holdings in Medtronic were worth $1,171,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Medtronic in the fourth quarter worth $1,163,580,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Medtronic in the 4th quarter worth about $852,732,000. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. bought a new stake in Medtronic in the 4th quarter valued at about $377,169,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in Medtronic by 2,043.4% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,598,150 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $207,540,000 after acquiring an additional 2,476,935 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Medtronic by 17.8% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 15,445,284 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $1,233,769,000 after purchasing an additional 2,333,600 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.06% of the company's stock.

Medtronic Price Performance

Shares of MDT traded up $0.38 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $87.38. 7,577,391 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,863,545. Medtronic plc has a 12 month low of $75.96 and a 12 month high of $96.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market cap of $112.07 billion, a PE ratio of 26.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.79. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $83.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $86.15.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The medical technology company reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $8.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.81 billion. Medtronic had a net margin of 12.83% and a return on equity of 14.07%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.46 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Medtronic plc will post 5.46 EPS for the current year.

Medtronic Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 27th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.25%. This is a positive change from Medtronic's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Medtronic's payout ratio is 78.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MDT. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Medtronic from $105.00 to $101.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Medtronic from $94.00 to $92.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered Medtronic from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Medtronic in a research note on Friday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Medtronic has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $97.00.

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.