DnB Asset Management AS Sells 167,654 Shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

DnB Asset Management AS trimmed its position in shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 14.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 969,285 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 167,654 shares during the quarter. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $77,426,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Medtronic during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Stephens Consulting LLC increased 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 valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its position in Medtronic by 753.8% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 333 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Medtronic during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Medtronic in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. 82.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Medtronic Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of Medtronic stock opened at $89.00 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $91.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $88.05. Medtronic plc has a 52 week low of $75.96 and a 52 week high of $96.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $114.14 billion, a PE ratio of 27.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.80.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last released 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. The firm had revenue of $8.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.33 billion. Medtronic had a net margin of 12.83% and a return on equity of 14.07%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Medtronic plc will post 5.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Medtronic Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MDT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Medtronic from $93.00 to $89.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Medtronic from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $92.00 to $107.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Medtronic from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Medtronic in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $96.07.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 12,437 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 $3,688,110. This represents a 23.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.