HighTower Advisors LLC Has $138.80 Million Stock Holdings in Medtronic PLC $MDT

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC slightly reduced its Medtronic stake by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, but still held about 1.44 million shares valued at roughly $138.8 million.
• Medtronic continues to draw support from its 47-year streak of dividend increases, with a quarterly dividend of $0.71 per share and a current yield of about 3.6%.
• Wall Street remains generally constructive on the stock: analysts assign Medtronic a Moderate Buy rating, with an average price target of $107.80, even as the shares recently traded well below that level.

HighTower Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in Medtronic PLC (NYSE:MDT - Free Report) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,444,921 shares of the medical technology company's stock after selling 15,683 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC owned about 0.11% of Medtronic worth $138,799,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Medtronic by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 128,961,343 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $12,388,027,000 after acquiring an additional 1,888,381 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in Medtronic by 1.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 60,460,537 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $5,800,550,000 after acquiring an additional 625,992 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Medtronic by 0.9% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 21,468,260 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $2,044,637,000 after acquiring an additional 192,410 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its stake in Medtronic by 3.0% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 11,203,865 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $1,067,055,000 after acquiring an additional 327,899 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Medtronic by 35.3% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,189,586 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $970,456,000 after acquiring an additional 2,658,981 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.06% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Medtronic

Here are the key news stories impacting Medtronic this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Medtronic’s long-running dividend growth story is in focus again, with investors viewing the company as a stable income name as its 47-year streak of dividend increases is expected to continue. Medtronic dividend preview: 47-year growth streak set to continue
• Positive Sentiment: Medtronic is also benefiting from the broader “silver economy” investment theme, as aging populations continue to drive demand for medical devices and healthcare solutions. Silver Economy Investing: Why the Healthcare Giants Are in Focus
• Neutral Sentiment: The company announced Kweli Thompson will take over leadership of its neuroscience portfolio, replacing Brett Wall as part of a planned transition. The move keeps attention on execution in a major segment, but it is not a major financial update by itself. Medtronic Neuroscience Appointment Puts Focus On Execution And Growth Risks
• Neutral Sentiment: Medtronic also named new leaders in its neuroscience portfolio in a separate announcement, reinforcing that the change is already being absorbed by the market. Medtronic, BD name new leaders
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent trading commentary noted MDT had been advancing while the broader market declined, suggesting relative strength rather than a company-specific catalyst. Medtronic (MDT) Advances While Market Declines: Some Information for Investors

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $95.00 price objective on shares of Medtronic in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Leerink Partners reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $119.00 price objective on shares of Medtronic in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Daiwa Securities Group reduced their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $117.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 27th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Evercore set a $106.00 price objective on shares of Medtronic and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $107.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Medtronic news, EVP Harry Skip Kiil sold 52,524 shares of Medtronic stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.71, for a total transaction of $5,132,120.04. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 32,768 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,201,761.28. This trade represents a 61.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

Medtronic Price Performance

MDT opened at $78.51 on Wednesday. Medtronic PLC has a 1 year low of $74.40 and a 1 year high of $106.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.54 and a quick ratio of 1.87. The company has a market capitalization of $100.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.62. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $84.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $93.43.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The medical technology company reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.02. Medtronic had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 14.82%. The company had revenue of $9.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.89 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.38 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Medtronic PLC will post 5.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Medtronic Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 27th were paid a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 27th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. Medtronic's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 79.11%.

About Medtronic

Medtronic plc is a global medical technology company that develops and manufactures a broad range of therapeutic devices and health care solutions. Headquartered legally in Ireland with principal operational offices in the United States, the company markets products to hospitals, physicians and health systems worldwide and has grown from its founding in 1949 into one of the largest medical-device manufacturers serving global health-care markets.

Medtronic's offerings span several clinical areas, including cardiac rhythm and heart failure (pacemakers, implantable cardioverter‑defibrillators and related cardiac therapies), minimally invasive and surgical technologies (laparoscopic and advanced energy devices, visualization systems and surgical innovations), restorative therapies (spine and orthopedics, neuromodulation and neurovascular treatments) and diabetes management (insulin-delivery systems and glucose monitoring solutions).

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