Sentry Investment Management LLC Sells 861 Shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

Sentry Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 14.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 5,286 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 861 shares during the quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $422,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Medtronic in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Medtronic in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Medtronic in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Stephens Consulting LLC boosted its holdings in Medtronic by 145.7% in the fourth quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 344 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J. Stern & Co. LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Medtronic during the third quarter worth about $30,000. 82.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Medtronic Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of MDT stock opened at $90.27 on Tuesday. Medtronic plc has a twelve month low of $75.96 and a twelve month high of $93.08. The stock has a market cap of $115.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $86.26 and a 200 day moving average of $87.24. 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 earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The medical technology company reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.03. Medtronic had a net margin of 12.83% and a return on equity of 14.07%. The firm had revenue of $8.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.33 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Medtronic plc will post 5.46 EPS for the current year.

Medtronic Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th were given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.10%. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 85.11%.

Insider Transactions at Medtronic

In related news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 12,437 shares of Medtronic stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total value of $1,119,330.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 40,979 shares in the company, valued at $3,688,110. The trade was a 23.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on MDT shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Medtronic in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $106.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. UBS Group raised their target price on Medtronic from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on Medtronic from $96.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. One investment 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, Medtronic presently has a consensus 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.