LifePlan Financial LLC Acquires 822 Shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

LifePlan Financial LLC increased its stake in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 22,327 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 822 shares during the quarter. Medtronic makes up approximately 1.6% of LifePlan Financial LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. LifePlan Financial LLC’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $1,783,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new position in shares of Medtronic during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Medtronic in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Medtronic in the third quarter worth $27,000. J. Stern & Co. LLP bought a new stake in shares of Medtronic during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Chelsea Counsel Co. purchased a new position in shares of Medtronic during the 3rd quarter valued at $45,000. 82.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Medtronic Trading Up 1.2 %

MDT opened at $88.23 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $83.64 and a 200 day moving average of $85.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Medtronic plc has a 12 month low of $75.96 and a 12 month high of $92.68. The firm has a market cap of $113.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.83.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The medical technology company reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.27 billion. Medtronic had a return on equity of 13.79% and a net margin of 13.00%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.25 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Medtronic plc will post 5.45 EPS for the current year.

Medtronic Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. Medtronic’s payout ratio is 85.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Medtronic from $106.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Medtronic from $96.00 to $93.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Medtronic from $96.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Medtronic from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $98.00 to $105.00 in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Medtronic from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $95.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Medtronic news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 9,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.41, for a total value of $792,038.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 40,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,273,330.28. This represents a 19.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.