Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) Shares Sold by Ensign Peak Advisors Inc

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc cut its holdings in shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 6.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 345,896 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 25,378 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $27,630,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MDT. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Medtronic in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Medtronic by 753.8% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 333 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 294 shares during the period. Stephens Consulting LLC grew its position in shares of Medtronic by 145.7% during the fourth quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 344 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. purchased a new stake in shares of Medtronic during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Chapman Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Medtronic in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on MDT. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Medtronic in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Medtronic in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Medtronic from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Medtronic from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Medtronic from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $92.00 to $107.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $96.14.

Medtronic Stock Performance

Shares of MDT stock opened at $83.47 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $86.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $86.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $107.05 billion, a PE ratio of 25.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.81. Medtronic plc has a 52-week low of $75.96 and a 52-week high of $96.25.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The medical technology company reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.03. Medtronic had a return on equity of 14.07% and a net margin of 12.83%. The business had revenue of $8.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.33 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Medtronic plc will post 5.46 EPS for the current year.

Medtronic Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th were issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 28th. Medtronic’s payout ratio is 85.11%.

Medtronic 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.