Great Lakes Advisors LLC Cuts Holdings in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

Great Lakes Advisors LLC decreased its position in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 8.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 28,367 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 2,501 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $2,266,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Medtronic during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Medtronic during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. J. Stern & Co. LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Medtronic during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Stephens Consulting LLC increased its stake in shares of Medtronic by 145.7% during the fourth quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 344 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Medtronic during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MDT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Medtronic from $96.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Medtronic from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Medtronic from $106.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $96.07.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 12,437 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total value of $1,119,330.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 40,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,688,110. The trade was a 23.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Medtronic Stock Performance

NYSE:MDT opened at $93.18 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 firm has a market capitalization of $119.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.32, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.80. The company’s 50-day moving average is $89.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $87.96. Medtronic plc has a 1-year low of $75.96 and a 1-year high of $96.25.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last released its quarterly 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 business 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%. Analysts forecast that Medtronic plc will post 5.46 EPS for the current year.

Medtronic Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.