TCW Group Inc. Has $16.50 Million Position in Medtronic PLC (NYSE:MDT)

Key Points

• TCW Group Inc. significantly increased its stake in Medtronic PLC by 83.4% in Q1, owning 183,600 shares valued at approximately $16.5 million.
• The company has recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.71 per share, marking a positive change from the previous $0.70, with a 3.06% dividend yield.
• Analysts have given Medtronic a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy", with a price target averaging around $98.19.

TCW Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Medtronic PLC (NYSE:MDT - Free Report) by 83.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 183,600 shares of the medical technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 83,482 shares during the quarter. TCW Group Inc.'s holdings in Medtronic were worth $16,498,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MDT. Burkett Financial Services LLC lifted its position in Medtronic by 185.0% during the 1st quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 285 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the period. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Medtronic during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Columbia River Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Medtronic during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Optiver Holding B.V. purchased a new position in Medtronic in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Medtronic in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 82.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup raised their price objective on Medtronic from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Medtronic from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Medtronic from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Leerink Partners assumed coverage on Medtronic in a report on Monday, June 16th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $110.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Medtronic in a report on Friday, June 6th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Medtronic has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $98.19.

Medtronic Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MDT traded down $0.88 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $90.76. 3,641,518 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,669,240. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.42. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $87.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $87.74. The firm has a market cap of $116.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.06, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.80. Medtronic PLC has a twelve month low of $78.96 and a twelve month high of $96.25.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $8.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.81 billion. Medtronic had a return on equity of 14.54% and a net margin of 13.90%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.46 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Medtronic PLC will post 5.46 EPS for the current year.

Medtronic Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th were issued a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 27th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.13%. This is a boost from Medtronic's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Medtronic's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.