Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) Shares Sold by Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA decreased its holdings in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 14.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 20,816,182 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 3,610,987 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $1,662,797,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Medtronic by 21.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,839,569 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $165,616,000 after buying an additional 319,256 shares during the period. PDT Partners LLC bought a new stake in Medtronic in the third quarter worth $522,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Medtronic by 682.9% during the 3rd quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 23,737 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $2,137,000 after acquiring an additional 20,705 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in Medtronic during the third quarter valued at approximately $568,000. Finally, Ascent Group LLC acquired a new position in Medtronic in the 3rd quarter valued at $476,000. 82.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Medtronic Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of MDT opened at $88.48 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $91.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $87.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $113.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.89, a PEG 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.90.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The medical technology company reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.03. The business 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%. On average, analysts predict that Medtronic plc will post 5.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Medtronic Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.11%.

Insider Activity at Medtronic

In related news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 12,437 shares of Medtronic stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 40,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,688,110. The trade was a 23.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Medtronic in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Medtronic in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Medtronic from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Medtronic from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of 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 note on Tuesday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $96.07.

Medtronic Company 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.