Dana Investment Advisors Inc. Sells 651 Shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

Dana Investment Advisors Inc. decreased its position in shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 18.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,897 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 651 shares during the quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $231,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in shares of Medtronic by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 370,464 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $29,593,000 after purchasing an additional 2,805 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Medtronic by 16.5% in the fourth quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 11,223 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $897,000 after purchasing an additional 1,592 shares during the period. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC increased its position in shares of Medtronic by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC now owns 10,367 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $828,000 after purchasing an additional 1,360 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP increased its position in shares of Medtronic by 985.2% in the fourth quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 70,622 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $5,641,000 after purchasing an additional 64,114 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Medtronic in the fourth quarter worth $13,132,000. Institutional investors own 82.06% of the company’s stock.

Medtronic Stock Performance

Shares of MDT stock opened at $94.58 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $88.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $87.80. Medtronic plc has a 12 month low of $75.96 and a 12 month high of $95.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $121.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.75, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.80. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The medical technology company reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.03. Medtronic had a return on equity of 14.07% and a net margin of 12.83%. The firm had revenue of $8.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.33 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Medtronic plc will post 5.46 EPS for the current year.

Medtronic Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on MDT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Medtronic from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Medtronic from $106.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Citigroup upgraded Medtronic from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $92.00 to $107.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Medtronic from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Medtronic currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $96.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 12,437 shares of Medtronic stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 40,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,688,110. The trade was 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 through the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.