Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. Raises Stock Position in Medtronic PLC (NYSE:MDT)

Key Points

• Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. increased its stake in Medtronic PLC by 13.5%, owning over 514,926 shares, which now represent 3.2% of its portfolio.
• Medtronic recently reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, with a revenue of $8.93 billion, marking a 3.9% year-over-year increase.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.71, resulting in an annualized dividend of $2.84 and a yield of 3.1%.

Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Medtronic PLC (NYSE:MDT - Free Report) by 13.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 514,926 shares of the medical technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 61,052 shares during the quarter. Medtronic accounts for approximately 3.2% of Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd.'s holdings in Medtronic were worth $46,271,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Burkett Financial Services LLC raised its stake in Medtronic by 185.0% during the 1st quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 285 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Columbia River Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Medtronic in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Medtronic in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Medtronic in the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. acquired a new position in shares of Medtronic in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. 82.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports 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. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Medtronic to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Medtronic in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $107.00 price objective (up previously from $98.00) on shares of Medtronic in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, William Blair upgraded shares of Medtronic to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Twelve research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Medtronic has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $98.19.

Medtronic Price Performance

NYSE:MDT traded down $0.87 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $92.04. 6,848,048 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,449,505. Medtronic PLC has a 12 month low of $79.29 and a 12 month high of $96.25. The company has a fifty day moving average of $89.21 and a 200 day moving average of $88.00. 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 market cap of $117.98 billion, a PE ratio of 25.42, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.80.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Medtronic had a net margin of 13.90% and a return on equity of 14.54%. The firm had revenue of $8.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.46 EPS. The company's revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Medtronic PLC will post 5.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Medtronic Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 27th were given a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 27th. This is an increase from Medtronic's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis 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.