HighTower Advisors LLC Acquires 103,907 Shares of Medtronic PLC (NYSE:MDT)

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in Medtronic PLC by 7.5%, acquiring 103,907 shares to hold a total of 1,493,154 shares worth approximately $134.18 million.
• Several analysts have recently upgraded their ratings on Medtronic, with target prices set between $99.00 and $110.00, indicating a generally positive outlook for the company's stock.
• Medtronic announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.71 per share, reflecting a 3.1% dividend yield and showcasing the company's commitment to returning value to its shareholders.

HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Medtronic PLC (NYSE:MDT - Free Report) by 7.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,493,154 shares of the medical technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 103,907 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC owned about 0.12% of Medtronic worth $134,175,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Burkett Financial Services LLC grew its stake in Medtronic by 185.0% in the first quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 285 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the period. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Medtronic in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Columbia River Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Medtronic in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Optiver Holding B.V. acquired a new stake in Medtronic in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Medtronic in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 82.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on MDT shares. Leerink Partners started coverage on Medtronic in a research report on Monday, June 16th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $110.00 target price on the stock. Wolfe Research raised Medtronic from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $107.00 target price (up previously from $98.00) on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Medtronic from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on Medtronic from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Medtronic has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $98.19.

Medtronic Stock Performance

Shares of Medtronic stock opened at $92.09 on Wednesday. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $88.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $87.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $118.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.80. Medtronic PLC has a 12 month low of $79.29 and a 12 month high of $96.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

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

Medtronic Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th were paid a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 27th. This is a boost from Medtronic's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Medtronic's dividend payout ratio is presently 78.45%.

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.

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