Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Medtronic PLC (NYSE:MDT)

Key Points

• Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. increased its stake in Medtronic PLC by 1.5%, bringing its total ownership to 205,722 shares valued at approximately $18.49 million.
• Medtronic recently reported earnings of $1.62 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, and saw a 3.9% year-over-year growth in revenue with $8.93 billion for the quarter.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.71 per share, marking a boost from the previous $0.70, with an annualized yield of 3.08%.

Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. grew its stake in shares of Medtronic PLC (NYSE:MDT - Free Report) by 1.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 205,722 shares of the medical technology company's stock after buying an additional 3,049 shares during the period. Medtronic accounts for approximately 2.6% of Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Medtronic were worth $18,486,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Burkett Financial Services LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 185 shares during the period. Columbia River Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Medtronic in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Medtronic in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Medtronic in the first quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. acquired a new position in shares of Medtronic during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. 82.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Medtronic Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of Medtronic stock opened at $92.35 on Friday. 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $86.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $87.44. Medtronic PLC has a fifty-two week low of $78.32 and a fifty-two week high of $96.25. The firm has a market cap of $118.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.80.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The medical technology company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $8.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.46 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Medtronic PLC will post 5.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Medtronic Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th were issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.08%. This is a boost from Medtronic's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 27th. Medtronic's dividend payout ratio is 78.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MDT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Medtronic from $93.00 to $90.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Medtronic from $94.00 to $92.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Medtronic from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Medtronic from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Medtronic to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.

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