Centre Asset Management LLC Sells 11,968 Shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

Centre Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 8.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 132,256 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 11,968 shares during the quarter. Medtronic accounts for approximately 2.4% of Centre Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Centre Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $10,565,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of Medtronic during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Medtronic during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Medtronic in the third quarter valued at $27,000. J. Stern & Co. LLP acquired a new position in shares of Medtronic during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Chelsea Counsel Co. bought a new stake in shares of Medtronic during the third quarter worth about $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.06% of the company’s stock.

Medtronic Stock Up 0.1 %

Medtronic stock traded up $0.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $80.34. The company had a trading volume of 615,951 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,033,950. Medtronic plc has a 12 month low of $75.96 and a 12 month high of $92.68. 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’s 50 day moving average price is $85.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $84.85. The company has a market capitalization of $103.02 billion, a PE ratio of 24.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.83.

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

Medtronic Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on MDT shares. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Medtronic in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Medtronic from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $98.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Medtronic from $93.00 to $89.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Medtronic from $96.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Medtronic from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Medtronic currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.