Fisher Asset Management LLC Buys 833,410 Shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 22.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,592,459 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 833,410 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $378,327,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in Medtronic by 9.2% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 23,777,808 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $1,863,229,000 after buying an additional 1,994,123 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Medtronic in the fourth quarter valued at $1,229,726,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Medtronic by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,622,933 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $1,067,493,000 after purchasing an additional 285,819 shares during the period. Sanders Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Medtronic by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 12,634,161 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $1,040,802,000 after purchasing an additional 346,641 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Medtronic by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,089,400 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $893,352,000 after purchasing an additional 101,111 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.06% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Michael Marinaro sold 854 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.14, for a total transaction of $71,001.56. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,925 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,321,684.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Medtronic news, EVP Michael Marinaro sold 854 shares of Medtronic stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.14, for a total value of $71,001.56. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,925 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,321,684.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Geoffrey Martha sold 19,113 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.77, for a total value of $1,601,096.01. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 143,348 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,008,261.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Medtronic from $89.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $92.00 price objective on shares of Medtronic in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Medtronic in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Medtronic from $102.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Medtronic from $95.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Medtronic currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $93.00.

Medtronic Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of MDT traded down $0.62 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $81.04. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,688,958 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,862,874. The company has a current ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company’s 50-day moving average is $82.01 and its 200-day moving average is $83.51. Medtronic plc has a 52-week low of $68.84 and a 52-week high of $91.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $107.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.47, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.83.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 23rd. The medical technology company reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.01. Medtronic had a net margin of 11.36% and a return on equity of 13.47%. The company had revenue of $8.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.57 earnings per share. Medtronic’s revenue for the quarter was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Medtronic plc will post 5.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Medtronic Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. This is a positive change from Medtronic’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. Medtronic’s payout ratio is 100.36%.

About Medtronic

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.