Medtronic PLC (NYSE:MDT) Holdings Decreased by Equity Investment Corp

Equity Investment Corp lessened its stake in shares of Medtronic PLC (NYSE:MDT - Free Report) by 0.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,456,971 shares of the medical technology company's stock after selling 5,704 shares during the quarter. Medtronic accounts for about 2.9% of Equity Investment Corp's holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Equity Investment Corp owned approximately 0.11% of Medtronic worth $130,923,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MDT. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Medtronic by 1,368.0% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 39,989 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $3,194,000 after buying an additional 37,265 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its stake in Medtronic by 14.5% during the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 10,812 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $864,000 after purchasing an additional 1,367 shares during the period. Cibc World Markets Corp grew its holdings in shares of Medtronic by 16.2% during the fourth quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 202,349 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $16,164,000 after buying an additional 28,273 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Medtronic by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 19,836 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $1,585,000 after purchasing an additional 1,407 shares during the period. Finally, Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Medtronic in the 4th quarter worth $69,000. 82.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on MDT shares. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on Medtronic from $105.00 to $101.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Medtronic from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Monday, June 30th. BTIG Research reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Medtronic in a report on Friday, July 11th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Medtronic from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Medtronic to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $98.19.

Medtronic Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of MDT traded down $0.17 on Thursday, hitting $89.61. 4,544,410 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,039,918. The firm has a market capitalization of $114.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 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. Medtronic PLC has a 1 year low of $77.94 and a 1 year high of $96.25. The stock's 50 day moving average is $86.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $86.99.

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

Medtronic Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 27th were issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. This is a positive change from Medtronic's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 27th. Medtronic's dividend payout ratio is presently 78.45%.

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.