Farmers Trust Co. Increases Position in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

Farmers Trust Co. boosted its position in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 65,310 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after buying an additional 365 shares during the quarter. Farmers Trust Co.’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $5,217,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Medtronic in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Medtronic during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Medtronic in the 3rd 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 in the third quarter worth $45,000. 82.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Medtronic Price Performance

MDT stock traded up $3.19 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $83.06. The stock had a trading volume of 8,179,668 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,781,445. Medtronic plc has a 52 week low of $75.96 and a 52 week high of $92.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $106.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.83. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $84.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $84.92.

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

Medtronic Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 27th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.37%. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MDT. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Medtronic from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $98.00 to $105.00 in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Medtronic from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Medtronic from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Medtronic in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Medtronic from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $95.00.

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.