Ameritas Advisory Services LLC Purchases 10,975 Shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 63.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,273 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,975 shares during the quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $2,258,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Medtronic by 1.2% in the third quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 9,558 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $861,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Medtronic by 0.9% in the third quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 13,131 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $1,182,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. First PREMIER Bank boosted its holdings in Medtronic by 1.8% in the third quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 6,417 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $577,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. First City Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Medtronic by 2.9% during the third quarter. First City Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,123 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $371,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Finally, Hardy Reed LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Medtronic by 4.4% during the third quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 2,743 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $247,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. 82.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on MDT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Medtronic from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Medtronic from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Medtronic from $93.00 to $89.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Medtronic from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Medtronic currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $95.00.

Medtronic Price Performance

MDT opened at $88.23 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $83.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $85.16. Medtronic plc has a 12-month low of $75.96 and a 12-month high of $92.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm has a market cap of $113.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.98, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.83.

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

Medtronic Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.17%. Medtronic’s payout ratio is currently 85.63%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 9,850 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,273,330.28. This represents a 19.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.