Copperleaf Capital LLC Invests $238,000 in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

Copperleaf Capital LLC purchased a new position in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,976 shares of the medical technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $238,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MDT. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in Medtronic by 42.5% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 40,408 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $3,549,000 after purchasing an additional 12,055 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. increased its stake in Medtronic by 24.5% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 59,314 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $4,738,000 after purchasing an additional 11,658 shares during the last quarter. TigerOak Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in Medtronic in the fourth quarter valued at $361,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in Medtronic in the fourth quarter valued at $262,000. Finally, Hickory Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Medtronic in the fourth quarter valued at $232,000. 82.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on MDT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Medtronic from $96.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Medtronic in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Medtronic from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Barclays upped their price target on Medtronic from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Medtronic from $96.00 to $93.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $95.00.

Insider Activity at Medtronic

In other news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 9,850 shares of Medtronic stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.41, for a total value of $792,038.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 40,708 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,273,330.28. This trade represents a 19.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Medtronic Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of MDT opened at $93.02 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $119.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.84. Medtronic plc has a one year low of $75.96 and a one year high of $93.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.84. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $85.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $86.81.

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

Medtronic Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.63%.

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.