Bennett Associates Wealth Management Decreases Stake in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

Bennett Associates Wealth Management trimmed its holdings in shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 6.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 3,959 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 256 shares during the quarter. Bennett Associates Wealth Management’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $316,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Medtronic by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 9,558 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $861,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Medtronic by 0.9% in the third quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 13,131 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $1,182,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. First PREMIER Bank boosted its stake in Medtronic by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 6,417 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $577,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. First City Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Medtronic by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. First City Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,123 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $371,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hardy Reed LLC lifted its position in shares of Medtronic by 4.4% during the third quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 2,743 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $247,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.06% of the company’s stock.

Medtronic Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE:MDT opened at $87.19 on Friday. Medtronic plc has a 12-month low of $75.96 and a 12-month high of $92.68. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $83.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $85.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $111.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.83.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The medical technology company reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.01. Medtronic had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 13.79%. The company had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.25 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Medtronic plc will post 5.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Medtronic Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.21%. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Medtronic from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Royal Bank of Canada raised Medtronic from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $98.00 to $105.00 in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price 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 reduced their price target on shares of Medtronic from $96.00 to $93.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $95.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 9,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.41, for a total transaction of $792,038.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 40,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,273,330.28. This represents a 19.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.