Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Sells 118,737 Shares of Medtronic PLC (NYSE:MDT)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in Medtronic PLC (NYSE:MDT) by 94.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,762 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 118,737 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $608,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Medtronic by 1,368.0% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 39,989 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $3,194,000 after acquiring an additional 37,265 shares during the last quarter. Oxford Asset Management LLP grew its stake in shares of Medtronic by 70.1% during the fourth quarter. Oxford Asset Management LLP now owns 7,442 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $594,000 after buying an additional 3,068 shares during the last quarter. New Vernon Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Medtronic by 304.9% during the fourth quarter. New Vernon Investment Management LLC now owns 29,613 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $2,425,000 after buying an additional 22,300 shares during the last quarter. Insight Inv LLC grew its stake in shares of Medtronic by 84.2% during the first quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 27,456 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $2,467,000 after buying an additional 12,550 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Argent Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Medtronic by 13.6% during the fourth quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 56,020 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $4,475,000 after buying an additional 6,721 shares during the last quarter. 82.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Medtronic Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE:MDT opened at $89.35 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.42. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $88.28 and a 200-day moving average of $87.88. The company has a market cap of $114.59 billion, a PE ratio of 24.68, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.80. Medtronic PLC has a one year low of $79.29 and a one year high of $96.25.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The medical technology company reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $8.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.81 billion. Medtronic had a net margin of 13.90% and a return on equity of 14.54%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter 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 research analysts expect that Medtronic PLC will post 5.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Medtronic Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th were paid a $0.71 dividend. This is a positive change from Medtronic’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 27th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 78.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on MDT shares. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $107.00 target price (up previously from $98.00) on shares of Medtronic in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Medtronic from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Leerink Partners started coverage on shares of Medtronic in a research note on Monday, June 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $110.00 target price on the stock. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Medtronic to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Medtronic from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Medtronic currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $98.19.

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.