Groupama Asset Managment Cuts Holdings in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

Groupama Asset Managment lessened its stake in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 62.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 67,681 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 113,414 shares during the quarter. Groupama Asset Managment’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $5,389,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MDT. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Medtronic in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,163,580,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Medtronic during the 4th quarter worth $852,732,000. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Medtronic during the fourth quarter worth $377,169,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Medtronic by 2,043.4% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,598,150 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $207,540,000 after buying an additional 2,476,935 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners raised its stake in Medtronic by 117.4% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,102,605 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $248,311,000 after buying an additional 1,675,588 shares in the last quarter. 82.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Medtronic Stock Performance

NYSE MDT opened at $88.48 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $113.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.89, a P/E/G 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 $96.25. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $91.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $87.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

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

Medtronic Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.16%. Medtronic’s payout ratio is currently 85.11%.

Insider Transactions at Medtronic

In related 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 40,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,688,110. This represents a 23.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MDT. Citigroup raised Medtronic from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $92.00 to $107.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Medtronic from $93.00 to $89.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Medtronic in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Medtronic from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Medtronic from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Medtronic presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $96.07.

Medtronic 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.