Medtronic PLC (NYSE:MDT) Shares Acquired by Sabal Trust CO

Sabal Trust CO grew its stake in Medtronic PLC (NYSE:MDT - Free Report) by 3.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 371,212 shares of the medical technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 12,704 shares during the period. Medtronic makes up about 1.9% of Sabal Trust CO's portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Sabal Trust CO's holdings in Medtronic were worth $33,357,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Medtronic by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 124,203,387 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $9,921,367,000 after purchasing an additional 754,395 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of Medtronic by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 33,203,685 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $2,652,310,000 after acquiring an additional 571,700 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Medtronic by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,056,217 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $2,155,085,000 after acquiring an additional 574,055 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in Medtronic by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 18,443,640 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $1,473,278,000 after acquiring an additional 372,168 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Medtronic by 17.8% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 15,445,284 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $1,233,769,000 after purchasing an additional 2,333,600 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.06% of the company's stock.

Medtronic Stock Up 0.5%

NYSE MDT traded up $0.44 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $86.41. 10,821,631 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,959,053. Medtronic PLC has a 52 week low of $75.96 and a 52 week high of $96.25. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $84.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $86.29. The company has a market cap of $110.83 billion, a PE ratio of 23.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.42.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 21st. The medical technology company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $8.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.46 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Medtronic PLC will post 5.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Medtronic Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be issued a $0.71 dividend. This is a boost from Medtronic's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 27th. Medtronic's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup raised shares of Medtronic from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $92.00 to $107.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Medtronic from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 21st. Leerink Partners started coverage on shares of Medtronic in a research note on Monday, June 16th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $110.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Medtronic from $94.00 to $92.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Medtronic in a report on Friday, June 6th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Medtronic has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $97.87.

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.