Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Increases Stake in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its stake in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 7.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,655,787 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 111,910 shares during the quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C.’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $132,264,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MDT. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Medtronic during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted 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 acquiring an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC grew its position in Medtronic by 145.7% during the fourth quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 344 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the period. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Medtronic during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Chelsea Counsel Co. acquired a new stake in Medtronic during the third quarter worth about $45,000. 82.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 12,437 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 40,979 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,688,110. This represents a 23.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MDT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Medtronic from $93.00 to $90.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price 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, Citigroup upgraded 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 report on Tuesday, March 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $96.14.

Medtronic Stock Performance

Medtronic stock opened at $83.39 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $106.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.79. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $88.54 and a 200-day moving average of $87.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.39 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 $96.25.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The medical technology company reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $8.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.33 billion. Medtronic had a return on equity of 14.07% and a net margin of 12.83%. On average, analysts expect that Medtronic plc will post 5.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Medtronic Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 28th. Medtronic’s payout ratio is 85.11%.

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.