Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC Sells 2,057 Shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 6.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 31,706 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 2,057 shares during the period. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $2,533,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Medtronic during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Medtronic in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Stephens Consulting LLC grew its stake in shares of Medtronic by 145.7% in the 4th quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 344 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP purchased a new position in shares of Medtronic in the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Medtronic in the 4th quarter worth $36,000. 82.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Medtronic Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of Medtronic stock opened at $94.58 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $121.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.75, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.80. Medtronic plc has a 52-week low of $75.96 and a 52-week high of $95.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $88.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $87.80.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The medical technology company reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $8.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.33 billion. Medtronic had a net margin of 12.83% and a return on equity of 14.07%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Medtronic plc will post 5.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Medtronic Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 12,437 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total value of $1,119,330.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 40,979 shares in the company, valued at $3,688,110. The trade was a 23.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MDT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $106.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Medtronic from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $92.00 to $107.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of Medtronic from $96.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Medtronic from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Medtronic in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $96.07.

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.