United Community Bank Reduces Stake in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

United Community Bank lowered its holdings in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 10.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,497 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 736 shares during the quarter. United Community Bank’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $519,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MDT. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Medtronic in the 4th quarter valued at about $852,732,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Medtronic by 2,043.4% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,598,150 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $207,540,000 after acquiring an additional 2,476,935 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in shares of Medtronic by 65.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 4,546,819 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $406,122,000 after purchasing an additional 1,790,483 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,420,263 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Medtronic

In related news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 9,850 shares of Medtronic stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.41, for a total value of $792,038.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 40,708 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,273,330.28. This trade represents a 19.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MDT. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Medtronic from $96.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Medtronic from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Medtronic from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Medtronic presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $96.07.

Medtronic Stock Up 1.6 %

MDT opened at $94.58 on Friday. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $88.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $87.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $121.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.80. Medtronic plc has a 12 month low of $75.96 and a 12 month high of $95.57.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The medical technology company reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $8.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.33 billion. Medtronic had a return on equity of 14.07% and a net margin of 12.83%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Medtronic plc will post 5.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Medtronic Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. Medtronic’s payout ratio is currently 85.11%.

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.