Bank of Stockton Lowers Stake in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

Bank of Stockton lessened its holdings in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 6.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,761 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 490 shares during the quarter. Bank of Stockton’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $540,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Crumly & Associates Inc. raised its position in Medtronic by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc. now owns 6,533 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $522,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares during the period. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT raised its position in Medtronic by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 24,854 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $1,985,000 after purchasing an additional 2,294 shares during the period. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Medtronic by 210.0% in the 4th quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,450 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $595,000 after purchasing an additional 5,047 shares during the period. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. raised its position in Medtronic by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. now owns 13,259 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $1,059,000 after purchasing an additional 603 shares during the period. Finally, Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC raised its position in Medtronic by 185.7% in the 4th quarter. Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 18,491 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $1,477,000 after purchasing an additional 12,019 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.06% of the company’s stock.

Medtronic Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of MDT opened at $88.14 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $85.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $87.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $113.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.79, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.84. Medtronic plc has a 1-year low of $75.96 and a 1-year high of $93.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $8.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.33 billion. Medtronic had a net margin of 12.83% and a return on equity of 14.07%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Medtronic plc will post 5.46 EPS for the current year.

Medtronic Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th were paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.18%. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.11%.

Insider Transactions at Medtronic

In other news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 9,850 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 40,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,273,330.28. The trade was a 19.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MDT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lifted 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. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $95.20.

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.