Vanguard Group Inc. Has $11.23 Billion Stock Position in Medtronic PLC (NYSE:MDT)

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Medtronic PLC by 0.7%, acquiring an additional 810,854 shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately 125 million shares valued at over $11.2 billion.
• Medtronic recently reported earnings of $1.62 per share, exceeding analyst expectations, and has increased its quarterly dividend to $0.71 per share, reflecting a yield of **3.2%**.
• Institutional investors currently own **82.06%** of Medtronic's stock, with several hedge funds adding to their positions recently, indicating strong investor interest in the company.

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Medtronic PLC (NYSE:MDT - Free Report) by 0.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 125,014,241 shares of the medical technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 810,854 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 9.75% of Medtronic worth $11,233,780,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Burkett Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Medtronic by 185.0% during the first quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 285 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Medtronic during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Columbia River Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Medtronic during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Optiver Holding B.V. bought a new stake in shares of Medtronic during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Medtronic during the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. 82.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Medtronic Trading Up 1.9%

MDT stock traded up $1.70 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $92.94. 6,636,861 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,924,519. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $88.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $87.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 1.85. The company has a market cap of $119.13 billion, a PE ratio of 25.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.80. Medtronic PLC has a one year low of $79.29 and a one year high of $96.25.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The medical technology company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $8.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.81 billion. Medtronic had a return on equity of 14.54% and a net margin of 13.90%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.46 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Medtronic PLC will post 5.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Medtronic Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th were given a $0.71 dividend. 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%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 27th. Medtronic's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on MDT shares. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Medtronic from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Leerink Partnrs raised Medtronic to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Medtronic from $94.00 to $92.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on Medtronic from $105.00 to $101.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, William Blair raised Medtronic to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Eleven equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Medtronic has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $98.19.

Medtronic 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.