Bleakley Financial Group LLC Trims Position in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

Bleakley Financial Group LLC reduced its holdings in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 4.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 61,086 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 2,536 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $4,880,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Medtronic by 436.7% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 7,343,385 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $661,125,000 after acquiring an additional 5,975,110 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in shares of Medtronic by 65.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 4,546,819 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $406,122,000 after purchasing an additional 1,790,483 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in Medtronic by 58.4% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,850,914 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $346,705,000 after buying an additional 1,420,263 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Medtronic by 8,908.6% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,298,415 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $116,896,000 after buying an additional 1,284,002 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC increased its stake in Medtronic by 5,124.5% during the 3rd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 1,035,708 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $93,245,000 after buying an additional 1,015,884 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Medtronic news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 12,437 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 40,979 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,688,110. This represents a 23.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Medtronic Price Performance

Medtronic stock opened at $91.62 on Thursday. Medtronic plc has a 52-week low of $75.96 and a 52-week high of $93.08. The company’s 50 day moving average is $84.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $86.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm has a market cap of $117.48 billion, a PE ratio of 28.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.84.

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

Medtronic Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. Medtronic’s payout ratio is currently 85.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MDT shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Medtronic from $106.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Medtronic from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $98.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target 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. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Medtronic currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $95.00.

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.