Bridgewater Associates LP Lowers Stock Position in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

Bridgewater Associates LP cut its holdings in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 12.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 511,349 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 71,379 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $40,847,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MDT. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board raised its position in Medtronic by 31.2% in the fourth quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 14,270 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $1,140,000 after acquiring an additional 3,395 shares during the period. Cohen & Steers Inc. grew its position in shares of Medtronic by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 3,856 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $308,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the period. SageView Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Medtronic by 151.3% in the 4th quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 10,009 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $800,000 after purchasing an additional 6,026 shares during the period. Savvy Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Medtronic by 110.1% in the fourth quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. now owns 9,431 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $753,000 after purchasing an additional 4,942 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stamos Capital Partners L.P. grew its holdings in Medtronic by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Stamos Capital Partners L.P. now owns 59,360 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $4,742,000 after purchasing an additional 2,760 shares during the period. 82.06% of the stock is 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 firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $1,119,330.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 40,979 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,688,110. This trade represents a 23.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Medtronic Trading Up 1.6 %

Medtronic stock opened at $84.20 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $107.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.59, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.79. Medtronic plc has a fifty-two week low of $75.96 and a fifty-two week high of $96.25. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $89.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $87.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.90.

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

Medtronic Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 28th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.33%. Medtronic’s payout ratio is presently 85.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup raised shares of Medtronic from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $92.00 to $107.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Medtronic from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $96.14.

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.