Welch & Forbes LLC Decreases Position in Medtronic PLC (NYSE:MDT)

Welch & Forbes LLC cut its stake in Medtronic PLC (NYSE:MDT - Free Report) by 11.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,210 shares of the medical technology company's stock after selling 5,916 shares during the quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC's holdings in Medtronic were worth $4,152,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Burkett Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in Medtronic by 185.0% in the 1st 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 purchased a new position in Medtronic in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Columbia River Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Medtronic in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Optiver Holding B.V. purchased a new position in Medtronic in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Medtronic in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. 82.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Medtronic Trading Down 0.2%

Medtronic stock traded down $0.17 during trading on Thursday, hitting $89.61. The company had a trading volume of 6,951,657 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,033,245. Medtronic PLC has a 1-year low of $78.32 and a 1-year high of $96.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $86.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $86.99. The stock has a market cap of $114.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.80.

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, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.46 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Medtronic PLC will post 5.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Medtronic Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th were given a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 27th. This is a boost from Medtronic's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Medtronic's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 78.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MDT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Medtronic from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Medtronic from $105.00 to $101.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Medtronic from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Medtronic from $94.00 to $92.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Medtronic from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Monday, June 30th. Eleven equities research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $98.19.

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.