Xponance Inc. Buys 6,222 Shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

Xponance Inc. grew its stake in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 188,501 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,222 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $15,057,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MDT. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Medtronic in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Medtronic in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Stephens Consulting LLC lifted its holdings in Medtronic by 145.7% in the fourth quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 344 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Medtronic by 753.8% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 333 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 294 shares during the period. Finally, J. Stern & Co. LLP acquired a new position in Medtronic in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 82.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MDT. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Medtronic in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Medtronic in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of Medtronic from $96.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Medtronic from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $92.00 to $107.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Medtronic currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $96.07.

Medtronic Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of MDT stock opened at $92.10 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $90.12 and a 200-day moving average of $88.02. 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 12-month low of $75.96 and a 12-month high of $96.25. The company has a market capitalization of $118.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.80.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The medical technology company reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $8.33 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Medtronic plc will post 5.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Medtronic Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. Medtronic’s payout ratio is 85.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 9,850 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.41, for a total transaction of $792,038.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 40,708 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,273,330.28. This represents a 19.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.