Willis Investment Counsel Acquires 1,837 Shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

Willis Investment Counsel boosted its holdings in shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 353,687 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,837 shares during the quarter. Medtronic comprises 1.9% of Willis Investment Counsel’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest position. Willis Investment Counsel’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $28,253,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Medtronic by 436.7% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 7,343,385 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $661,125,000 after acquiring an additional 5,975,110 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in Medtronic by 65.0% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 4,546,819 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $406,122,000 after buying an additional 1,790,483 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of Medtronic by 58.4% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,850,914 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $346,705,000 after acquiring an additional 1,420,263 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Medtronic by 8,908.6% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,298,415 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $116,896,000 after purchasing an additional 1,284,002 shares during the period. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Medtronic by 5,124.5% in the 3rd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 1,035,708 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $93,245,000 after purchasing an additional 1,015,884 shares in the last quarter. 82.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Medtronic

In other Medtronic news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 9,850 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.41, for a total transaction of $792,038.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 40,708 shares in the company, valued at $3,273,330.28. This trade represents a 19.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MDT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $96.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Medtronic from $93.00 to $89.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Medtronic from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Medtronic from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $98.00 to $105.00 in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Medtronic in a research note on Monday, November 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $95.00.

Medtronic Stock Performance

Shares of MDT stock opened at $90.74 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $116.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.84. Medtronic plc has a 12 month low of $75.96 and a 12 month high of $93.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $84.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $86.06.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The medical technology company reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.25 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Medtronic plc will post 5.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Medtronic Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. Medtronic’s payout ratio is 85.63%.

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.