Auxier Asset Management Decreases Stake in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

Auxier Asset Management cut its holdings in shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 141,242 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 2,190 shares during the period. Medtronic accounts for about 1.7% of Auxier Asset Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Auxier Asset Management’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $11,282,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. North Star Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Medtronic by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. North Star Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,083 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $406,000 after purchasing an additional 578 shares during the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in Medtronic during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,838,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. raised its position in shares of Medtronic by 36.3% in the 4th quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. now owns 73,883 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $5,902,000 after purchasing an additional 19,679 shares in the last quarter. Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Medtronic in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,564,000. Finally, WCG Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Medtronic by 24.6% during the 4th quarter. WCG Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 28,384 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $2,267,000 after buying an additional 5,606 shares during the last quarter. 82.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Medtronic Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of Medtronic stock opened at $80.70 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $103.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.53, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.81. Medtronic plc has a twelve month low of $75.96 and a twelve month high of $96.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $85.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $86.44.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $8.93 billion during 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 firm’s revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.46 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Medtronic plc will post 5.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Medtronic Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th will be issued a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 27th. This is a boost from Medtronic’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MDT. 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. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Medtronic in a report on Monday, May 19th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Medtronic from $105.00 to $101.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Medtronic from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price target on Medtronic from $93.00 to $90.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Medtronic presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.