Polen Capital Management LLC Sells 240,551 Shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

Polen Capital Management LLC lowered its position in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 23.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 782,478 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 240,551 shares during the period. Polen Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $62,504,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Medtronic in the third quarter worth $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Medtronic in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. J. Stern & Co. LLP bought a new position in shares of Medtronic in the third quarter worth $30,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Medtronic by 753.8% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 333 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the period. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC increased its holdings in shares of Medtronic by 145.7% in the fourth quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 344 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.06% of the company’s stock.

Medtronic Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE MDT opened at $93.18 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $119.51 billion, a PE ratio of 28.32, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.80. Medtronic plc has a 1 year low of $75.96 and a 1 year high of $96.25. The business’s 50-day moving average is $89.61 and its 200 day moving average is $87.95.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The medical technology company reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts’ expectations of $8.33 billion. Medtronic had a return on equity of 14.07% and a net margin of 12.83%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Medtronic plc will post 5.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Medtronic Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.00%. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Medtronic news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 9,850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.41, for a total value of $792,038.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 40,708 shares in the company, valued at $3,273,330.28. This trade represents a 19.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MDT has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup upgraded shares of Medtronic from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $92.00 to $107.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Medtronic from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of Medtronic from $96.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Medtronic from $106.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Medtronic from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock 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 company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.