Guggenheim Capital LLC Cuts Stake in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

Guggenheim Capital LLC lessened its stake in shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 14.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 484,991 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 81,459 shares during the quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $38,741,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MDT. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Medtronic by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 124,203,387 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $9,921,367,000 after purchasing an additional 754,395 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Medtronic by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,056,217 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $2,155,085,000 after purchasing an additional 574,055 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Medtronic by 17.8% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 15,445,284 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $1,233,769,000 after buying an additional 2,333,600 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Medtronic in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,163,580,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Medtronic during the fourth quarter valued at $852,732,000. Institutional investors own 82.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Medtronic

In other news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 12,437 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $1,119,330.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 40,979 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,688,110. This represents a 23.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Medtronic Stock Performance

Shares of MDT opened at $84.20 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $89.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $87.60. The company has a market capitalization of $107.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.79. Medtronic plc has a 52-week low of $75.96 and a 52-week high of $96.25.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $8.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.33 billion. Medtronic had a return on equity of 14.07% and a net margin of 12.83%. Research analysts predict that Medtronic plc will post 5.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Medtronic Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 28th. Medtronic’s payout ratio is currently 85.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on MDT. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Medtronic in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Medtronic in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup raised 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 research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $93.00 to $90.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Medtronic from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $96.14.

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.