Medtronic PLC (NYSE:MDT) Shares Sold by Kentucky Retirement Systems

Kentucky Retirement Systems cut its position in Medtronic PLC (NYSE:MDT) by 0.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 87,673 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 466 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Medtronic were worth $7,878,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. TCTC Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Medtronic by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 39,718 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $3,173,000 after acquiring an additional 1,301 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Medtronic by 1,368.0% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 39,989 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $3,194,000 after purchasing an additional 37,265 shares during the period. Oxford Asset Management LLP boosted its stake in Medtronic by 70.1% during the 4th quarter. Oxford Asset Management LLP now owns 7,442 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $594,000 after purchasing an additional 3,068 shares during the period. New Vernon Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Medtronic by 304.9% during the 4th quarter. New Vernon Investment Management LLC now owns 29,613 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $2,425,000 after purchasing an additional 22,300 shares during the period. Finally, Advisor OS LLC boosted its stake in Medtronic by 152.0% during the 4th quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 11,800 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $943,000 after purchasing an additional 7,118 shares during the period. 82.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Medtronic Price Performance

MDT stock opened at $86.30 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $84.49 and a 200-day moving average of $86.27. Medtronic PLC has a 12-month low of $75.96 and a 12-month high of $96.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The company has a market cap of $110.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.84, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.79.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 21st. The medical technology company reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $8.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.81 billion. Medtronic had a return on equity of 14.54% and a net margin of 13.90%. Medtronic’s revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.46 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Medtronic PLC will post 5.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Medtronic Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be given a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 27th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.29%. This is a boost from Medtronic’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Medtronic’s payout ratio is presently 77.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Medtronic from $93.00 to $90.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Citigroup raised Medtronic from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $92.00 to $107.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Wall Street Zen raised Medtronic from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on Medtronic from $105.00 to $101.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $97.87.

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.