Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 9.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 491,866 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 52,158 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $39,290,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MDT. State Street Corp lifted its position in Medtronic by 0.9% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Medtronic by 3.3% during the third quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 8,582,993 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $772,727,000 after buying an additional 275,870 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 5,975,110 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 609,391 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Medtronic by 2.9% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 5,842,020 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $525,960,000 after purchasing an additional 164,700 shares during the period. 82.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Medtronic Stock Performance

MDT opened at $90.58 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $116.15 billion, a PE ratio of 27.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.84. 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 50-day moving average of $86.65 and a 200-day moving average of $87.32. Medtronic plc has a 52-week low of $75.96 and a 52-week high of $93.08.

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 company had revenue of $8.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.33 billion. Medtronic had a net margin of 12.83% and a return on equity of 14.07%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Medtronic plc will post 5.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Medtronic Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.09%. Medtronic’s payout ratio is 85.11%.

Insider Activity at Medtronic

In other Medtronic news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 9,850 shares of Medtronic stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.41, for a total transaction of $792,038.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 40,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,273,330.28. The trade was a 19.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MDT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays upped their price objective on Medtronic from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Medtronic from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Medtronic in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on Medtronic from $96.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Medtronic currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.