Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Invests $139.87 Million in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,750,989 shares of the medical technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $139,869,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned 0.14% of Medtronic at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MDT. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Medtronic in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,163,580,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Medtronic in the 4th quarter valued at about $852,732,000. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. purchased a new stake in Medtronic in the 4th quarter valued at about $377,169,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in Medtronic by 2,043.4% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,598,150 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $207,540,000 after buying an additional 2,476,935 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Medtronic by 17.8% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 15,445,284 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $1,233,769,000 after buying an additional 2,333,600 shares during the period. 82.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Medtronic Stock Performance

Medtronic stock opened at $80.70 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $84.84 and its 200-day moving average is $86.35. The company has a market cap of $103.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.39. Medtronic plc has a 12 month low of $75.96 and a 12 month high of $96.25.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 21st. The medical technology company reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $8.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.81 billion. Medtronic had a return on equity of 14.07% and a net margin of 12.83%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.46 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Medtronic plc will post 5.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Medtronic Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 27th. This is a positive change from Medtronic’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 78.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MDT. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Medtronic from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Medtronic from $105.00 to $101.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Citigroup raised Medtronic from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $92.00 to $107.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $96.07.

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.