Peoples Financial Services CORP. Trims Stake in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

Peoples Financial Services CORP. lessened its stake in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 8.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,025 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 355 shares during the period. Peoples Financial Services CORP.’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $322,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Medtronic by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 9,558 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $861,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Medtronic by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 13,131 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $1,182,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. First PREMIER Bank increased its position in Medtronic by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 6,417 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $577,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. First City Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Medtronic by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. First City Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,123 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $371,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Finally, Hardy Reed LLC increased its position in Medtronic by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 2,743 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $247,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MDT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Medtronic from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Medtronic from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Medtronic from $106.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Medtronic from $96.00 to $93.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of Medtronic from $96.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating 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 given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $95.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 9,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.41, for a total transaction of $792,038.50. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Medtronic Trading Up 4.1 %

Shares of MDT opened at $85.16 on Wednesday. Medtronic plc has a 52-week low of $75.96 and a 52-week high of $92.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $83.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $85.01. The stock has a market cap of $109.20 billion, a PE ratio of 26.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.83.

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

Medtronic Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th were given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.29%. Medtronic’s payout ratio is currently 85.63%.

Medtronic Company 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.