Principal Financial Group Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 44.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,442,595 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 1,167,322 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of Medtronic worth $115,235,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Medtronic by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 60,731,367 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $5,509,155,000 after buying an additional 520,027 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Medtronic by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 8,582,993 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $772,727,000 after buying an additional 275,870 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 5,975,110 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Medtronic by 11.5% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 5,893,720 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $530,612,000 after buying an additional 609,391 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in Medtronic by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 5,842,020 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $525,960,000 after buying an additional 164,700 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.06% of the company’s stock.

Medtronic Stock Performance

Medtronic stock opened at $86.05 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $85.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $86.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $110.34 billion, a PE ratio of 26.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.84. Medtronic plc has a one year low of $75.96 and a one year high of $93.08.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The medical technology company reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.03. Medtronic had a return on equity of 13.79% and a net margin of 13.00%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Medtronic plc will post 5.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Medtronic Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.25%. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.63%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Medtronic news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 12,437 shares of Medtronic stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 40,979 shares in the company, valued at $3,688,110. The trade was a 23.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MDT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Medtronic from $96.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Medtronic from $106.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Medtronic in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Medtronic from $93.00 to $89.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Medtronic from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Medtronic presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $95.00.

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.