First Financial Bank Trust Division Sells 784 Shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

First Financial Bank Trust Division lessened its stake in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 17.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,598 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 784 shares during the period. First Financial Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $287,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MDT. Magnus Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Medtronic by 12.7% during the 2nd quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC now owns 3,279 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares during the last quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Medtronic by 14.2% during the second quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC now owns 17,859 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $1,418,000 after buying an additional 2,225 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in Medtronic by 0.3% in the second quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 114,057 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $8,977,000 after buying an additional 378 shares during the period. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Medtronic by 29.6% in the second quarter. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. now owns 10,355 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $815,000 after acquiring an additional 2,363 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Medtronic by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 8,307,123 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $653,854,000 after acquiring an additional 637,931 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.06% of the company’s stock.

Medtronic Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE MDT traded up $0.34 during trading on Thursday, hitting $80.22. The stock had a trading volume of 5,500,114 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,230,272. Medtronic plc has a 12 month low of $75.96 and a 12 month high of $92.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.84. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $85.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $84.88. The company has a market capitalization of $102.86 billion, a PE ratio of 24.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.82.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The medical technology company reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $8.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.27 billion. Medtronic had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 13.79%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.25 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Medtronic plc will post 5.45 EPS for the current year.

Medtronic Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th will be given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 27th. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MDT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised Medtronic from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $98.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Medtronic from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Medtronic from $96.00 to $93.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Medtronic from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $106.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $95.00.

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.