Tufton Capital Management Sells 1,692 Shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

Tufton Capital Management lowered its stake in shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 69,561 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 1,692 shares during the period. Tufton Capital Management’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $5,557,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Waterway Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Medtronic by 21.5% during the 4th quarter. Waterway Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,459 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $436,000 after purchasing an additional 966 shares during the period. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Medtronic during the 4th quarter valued at about $226,000. Argyle Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Medtronic by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Argyle Capital Management LLC now owns 36,660 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $2,928,000 after purchasing an additional 2,610 shares during the period. VELA Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Medtronic by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC now owns 37,644 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $3,007,000 after purchasing an additional 2,066 shares during the period. Finally, Peloton Wealth Strategists lifted its position in Medtronic by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Peloton Wealth Strategists now owns 10,820 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $864,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Medtronic

In other news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 9,850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.41, for a total transaction of $792,038.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 40,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,273,330.28. This trade represents a 19.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Medtronic Stock Performance

Shares of MDT stock opened at $90.67 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $116.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.84. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $86.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $87.35. Medtronic plc has a 52 week low of $75.96 and a 52 week high of $93.08.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last issued 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 analysts’ expectations of $8.33 billion. Medtronic had a net margin of 12.83% and a return on equity of 14.07%. On average, analysts expect that Medtronic plc will post 5.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Medtronic Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.09%. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on MDT shares. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Medtronic from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. 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. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Medtronic from $93.00 to $89.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Medtronic has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.