Nexus Investment Management ULC Acquires 7,855 Shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

Nexus Investment Management ULC increased its holdings in shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 225,279 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,855 shares during the quarter. Medtronic accounts for about 1.8% of Nexus Investment Management ULC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Nexus Investment Management ULC’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $17,995,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MDT. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of Medtronic in the third quarter worth $27,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Medtronic during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Medtronic in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. J. Stern & Co. LLP bought a new stake in Medtronic during the third quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new stake in Medtronic during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.06% of the company’s stock.

Medtronic Price Performance

Shares of MDT opened at $88.23 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $83.64 and a 200-day moving average of $85.10. 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 has a market capitalization of $113.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.83. Medtronic plc has a 1 year low of $75.96 and a 1 year high of $92.68.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last released 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 net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 13.79%. The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.25 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Medtronic plc will post 5.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Medtronic Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions 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 directly 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on MDT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Medtronic from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Medtronic from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $98.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of Medtronic from $96.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average 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.