Meriwether Wealth & Planning LLC Invests $717,000 in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

Meriwether Wealth & Planning LLC purchased a new position in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 8,981 shares of the medical technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $717,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Medtronic in the fourth quarter worth about $852,732,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Medtronic by 436.7% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 7,343,385 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $661,125,000 after acquiring an additional 5,975,110 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in Medtronic by 2,043.4% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,598,150 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $207,540,000 after acquiring an additional 2,476,935 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in Medtronic by 65.0% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 4,546,819 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $406,122,000 after acquiring an additional 1,790,483 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in Medtronic by 58.4% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,850,914 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $346,705,000 after acquiring an additional 1,420,263 shares during the period. 82.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Medtronic Stock Up 1.6 %

MDT stock opened at $94.58 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $88.33 and a 200 day moving average of $87.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $121.30 billion, a PE ratio of 28.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Medtronic plc has a 52 week low of $75.96 and a 52 week high of $95.57.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The medical technology company reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.03. Medtronic had a net margin of 12.83% and a return on equity of 14.07%. The company had revenue of $8.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.33 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Medtronic plc will post 5.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Medtronic Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.11%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MDT. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Medtronic in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup raised shares of Medtronic from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $92.00 to $107.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Medtronic from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Medtronic from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of Medtronic from $96.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Medtronic currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $96.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 12,437 shares of Medtronic stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $1,119,330.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 40,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,688,110. The trade was a 23.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.