Brett A. Wall Sells 9,850 Shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) Stock

Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 40,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,273,330.28. This represents a 19.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Medtronic Stock Down 2.5 %

NYSE:MDT opened at $80.62 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $103.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.65, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $83.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $84.88. Medtronic plc has a 1 year low of $75.96 and a 1 year high of $92.68.

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

Medtronic Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th were given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.47%. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.63%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Medtronic

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Medtronic by 436.7% during 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 worth $661,125,000 after acquiring an additional 5,975,110 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in shares of Medtronic by 65.0% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 4,546,819 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $406,122,000 after purchasing an additional 1,790,483 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its position in shares of Medtronic by 1,195.9% in the second quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,837,600 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $144,637,000 after purchasing an additional 1,695,800 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in Medtronic by 58.4% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,850,914 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $346,705,000 after purchasing an additional 1,420,263 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Medtronic by 8,908.6% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,298,415 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $116,896,000 after purchasing an additional 1,284,002 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on MDT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Medtronic from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on Medtronic from $96.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price 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. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Medtronic from $96.00 to $93.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Medtronic in a report on Monday, November 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Medtronic 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.