Kesler Norman & Wride LLC Acquires 1,174 Shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

Kesler Norman & Wride LLC increased its holdings in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 2.0% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 60,335 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after buying an additional 1,174 shares during the period. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $5,258,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MDT. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of Medtronic in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Medtronic by 293.0% in the fourth quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 316,643 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 236,064 shares during the last quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Medtronic in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Medtronic by 317.0% in the third quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 367 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tributary Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Medtronic in the first quarter worth about $33,000. 82.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on MDT. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Medtronic in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “sell” rating and a $83.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Medtronic from $102.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $92.00 price objective on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Medtronic from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Medtronic currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $91.70.

Medtronic Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of MDT stock traded down $0.20 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $77.17. 2,838,401 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,333,819. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $81.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $83.41. Medtronic plc has a 12-month low of $68.84 and a 12-month high of $91.00. The stock has a market cap of $98.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.06, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 23rd. The medical technology company reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.01. Medtronic had a net margin of 11.36% and a return on equity of 13.47%. The firm had revenue of $8.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.44 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.57 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Medtronic plc will post 5.44 EPS for the current year.

Medtronic Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.63%. This is a positive change from Medtronic’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 101.82%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Geoffrey Martha sold 19,113 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 143,348 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,008,261.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Geoffrey Martha sold 19,113 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 143,348 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,008,261.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael Marinaro sold 854 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.14, for a total transaction of $71,001.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,925 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,321,684.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.