Flputnam Investment Management Co. Lowers Stock Holdings in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

Flputnam Investment Management Co. reduced its holdings in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 8.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,046 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 490 shares during the quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $403,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Medtronic during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. J. Stern & Co. LLP purchased a new stake in Medtronic in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Stephens Consulting LLC increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Medtronic during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Chelsea Counsel Co. acquired a new position in shares of Medtronic in the 3rd quarter valued at $45,000. 82.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Medtronic

In other news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 12,437 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $1,119,330.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 40,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,688,110. This trade represents a 23.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MDT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Medtronic from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Medtronic in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Medtronic from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of Medtronic from $96.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $95.00.

Medtronic Stock Performance

Medtronic stock opened at $94.20 on Tuesday. Medtronic plc has a 12-month low of $75.96 and a 12-month high of $94.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The company has a market capitalization of $120.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.84. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $87.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $87.57.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The medical technology company reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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. On average, research analysts forecast that Medtronic plc will post 5.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Medtronic Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 85.11%.

Medtronic Company 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.