Salem Investment Counselors Inc. Has $138,000 Holdings in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. raised its position in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 38.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,525 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after buying an additional 422 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $138,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Medtronic during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Medtronic by 185.0% during the first quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 285 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Medtronic by 753.8% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 333 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Medtronic during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. acquired a new position in shares of Medtronic during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. 82.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Medtronic Price Performance

NYSE:MDT opened at $87.19 on Friday. Medtronic plc has a 52 week low of $75.96 and a 52 week high of $96.25. The firm has a market cap of $111.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.79. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $84.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $86.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.90.

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

Medtronic Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be paid a $0.71 dividend. This is an increase from Medtronic’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 27th. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MDT. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Medtronic from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Citigroup raised shares of Medtronic from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $92.00 to $107.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Medtronic from $105.00 to $101.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Medtronic in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Medtronic from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Medtronic currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $97.00.

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.