Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) Shares Sold by Nixon Peabody Trust Co.

Nixon Peabody Trust Co. reduced its position in shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 61.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 50,379 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 79,560 shares during the period. Nixon Peabody Trust Co.’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $4,024,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Medtronic in the third quarter valued at approximately $224,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Medtronic by 168.1% in the third quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,383 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $215,000 after buying an additional 1,494 shares during the period. Aspen Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Medtronic during the third quarter valued at approximately $260,000. Stephens Inc. AR raised its stake in shares of Medtronic by 1.0% during the third quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 197,149 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $17,749,000 after purchasing an additional 1,947 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Medtronic by 6.7% during the third quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 47,656 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $4,290,000 after purchasing an additional 2,981 shares during the period. 82.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Medtronic

In related 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 value of $792,038.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 40,708 shares in the company, valued at $3,273,330.28. The trade was a 19.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MDT. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target 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. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays raised their price target 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $95.00.

Medtronic Stock Performance

MDT stock opened at $92.00 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 stock has a market capitalization of $117.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.96, a PEG ratio of 2.22 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $87.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $87.42.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. On average, research analysts predict that Medtronic plc will post 5.46 EPS for the current year.

Medtronic Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.11%.

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.