Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) Shares Sold by Country Trust Bank

Country Trust Bank cut its holdings in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 16.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 816 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 165 shares during the period. Country Trust Bank’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $65,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Medtronic by 47.2% in the second quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,255 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $965,000 after purchasing an additional 3,931 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Medtronic in the 2nd quarter valued at $13,571,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its position in shares of Medtronic by 1,195.9% in the 2nd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,837,600 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $144,637,000 after buying an additional 1,695,800 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Medtronic by 30.7% during the 2nd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 106,247 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $8,363,000 after acquiring an additional 24,936 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Centaurus Financial Inc. lifted its position in Medtronic by 34.8% in the second quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 6,250 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $492,000 after acquiring an additional 1,613 shares during the last quarter. 82.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 12,437 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total value of $1,119,330.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 40,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,688,110. This trade represents a 23.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Medtronic from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $98.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Medtronic from $106.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Medtronic from $96.00 to $93.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Medtronic from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Medtronic from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. One investment 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Medtronic currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $95.00.

Medtronic Price Performance

Shares of MDT opened at $92.01 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $84.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $85.91. Medtronic plc has a twelve month low of $75.96 and a twelve month high of $93.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $117.98 billion, a PE ratio of 28.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.83.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The medical technology company reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion for 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.25 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Medtronic plc will post 5.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Medtronic Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th were paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.