Associated Banc Corp Lowers Position in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

Associated Banc Corp cut its stake in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 170,938 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 840 shares during the quarter. Associated Banc Corp’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $13,655,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Medtronic by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 13,131 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $1,182,000 after buying an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Medtronic by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC now owns 6,408 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $512,000 after buying an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. First City Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Medtronic by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. First City Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,123 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $371,000 after buying an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Hardy Reed LLC raised its position in shares of Medtronic by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 2,743 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $247,000 after buying an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OLD Second National Bank of Aurora raised its position in shares of Medtronic by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 36,303 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $2,900,000 after buying an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. 82.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Medtronic

In related news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 12,437 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Medtronic Price Performance

NYSE MDT opened at $93.18 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.90. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $89.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $87.96. Medtronic plc has a 52-week low of $75.96 and a 52-week high of $96.25. The company has a market cap of $119.51 billion, a PE ratio of 28.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.80.

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

Medtronic Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors 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 3.00%. Medtronic’s payout ratio is 85.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MDT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Medtronic from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Medtronic in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of Medtronic from $96.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Medtronic from $106.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Medtronic from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Medtronic has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $96.07.

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.