Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) Shares Sold by Loomis Sayles & Co. L P

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P reduced its position in shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 12.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,900 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 282 shares during the quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $152,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Medtronic in the fourth quarter valued at $920,000. NEOS Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Medtronic by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 103,476 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $8,266,000 after buying an additional 11,237 shares during the period. Moment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Medtronic during the 4th quarter valued at about $288,000. Sava Infond d.o.o. purchased a new position in shares of Medtronic during the 4th quarter worth about $998,000. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Medtronic in the fourth quarter worth approximately $342,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on MDT. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Medtronic from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Medtronic in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup upgraded Medtronic from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $92.00 to $107.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Medtronic from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $96.07.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 12,437 shares of Medtronic 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,688,110. The trade was a 23.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Medtronic Price Performance

Shares of MDT stock opened at $87.62 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $90.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $87.99. The company has a market capitalization of $112.38 billion, a PE ratio of 26.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.80. Medtronic plc has a twelve month low of $75.96 and a twelve month high of $96.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

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

Medtronic Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. Medtronic’s payout ratio is 85.11%.

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.