Maple Capital Management Inc. Trims Holdings in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

Maple Capital Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 10.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,180 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 385 shares during the quarter. Maple Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $254,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Copley Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Medtronic in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $694,000. Olstein Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Medtronic by 19.2% in the third quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 87,000 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $7,833,000 after acquiring an additional 14,000 shares during the period. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC grew its holdings in shares of Medtronic by 32.6% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC now owns 73,517 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $5,873,000 after acquiring an additional 18,057 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its position in Medtronic by 322.6% during the third quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 73,593 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $6,626,000 after purchasing an additional 56,178 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank lifted its position in shares of Medtronic by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 278,065 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $22,212,000 after acquiring an additional 16,786 shares in the last quarter. 82.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 12,437 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total value of $1,119,330.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 40,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,688,110. This represents a 23.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Medtronic Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of MDT opened at $92.00 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $87.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $87.42. Medtronic plc has a twelve month low of $75.96 and a twelve month high of $93.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $117.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.96, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.84.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The medical technology company reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $8.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.33 billion. Medtronic had a net margin of 12.83% and a return on equity of 14.07%. On average, research analysts predict that Medtronic plc will post 5.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Medtronic Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MDT. 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. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Medtronic in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays upped their target price on Medtronic from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Medtronic from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Medtronic from $96.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Medtronic presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $95.00.

Medtronic 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.