WestEnd Advisors LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

WestEnd Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 470,795 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 20,364 shares during the period. Medtronic accounts for approximately 1.0% of WestEnd Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. WestEnd Advisors LLC’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $37,607,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new position in Medtronic in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Medtronic in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Medtronic during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Stephens Consulting LLC boosted 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 valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the period. Finally, J. Stern & Co. LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Medtronic during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. 82.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MDT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Medtronic from $96.00 to $93.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Medtronic from $106.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Medtronic from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Medtronic from $93.00 to $89.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on Medtronic from $96.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. One research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Medtronic has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $95.00.

Medtronic Price Performance

MDT stock opened at $90.01 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.84. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $84.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $86.38. The firm has a market cap of $115.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.53, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.84. Medtronic plc has a 1 year low of $75.96 and a 1 year high of $93.08.

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

Medtronic Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.11%. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.63%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Medtronic news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 9,850 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 40,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,273,330.28. This trade represents a 19.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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.

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.