Conning Inc. Reduces Stake in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

Conning Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 11.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 12,955 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 1,597 shares during the quarter. Conning Inc.’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $1,035,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Medtronic by 436.7% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 7,343,385 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $661,125,000 after buying an additional 5,975,110 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in Medtronic by 65.0% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 4,546,819 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $406,122,000 after acquiring an additional 1,790,483 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of Medtronic by 58.4% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,850,914 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $346,705,000 after purchasing an additional 1,420,263 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Medtronic by 8,908.6% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,298,415 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $116,896,000 after purchasing an additional 1,284,002 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Medtronic by 5,124.5% in the 3rd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 1,035,708 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $93,245,000 after purchasing an additional 1,015,884 shares during the last quarter. 82.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Medtronic Price Performance

MDT stock opened at $90.01 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $115.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.53, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $84.78 and a 200-day moving average of $86.31. Medtronic plc has a 12-month low of $75.96 and a 12-month high of $93.08.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 19th. The medical technology company reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.27 billion. Medtronic had a return on equity of 13.79% and a net margin of 13.00%. Medtronic’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.25 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Medtronic plc will post 5.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Medtronic Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.11%. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 85.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on Medtronic from $96.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Medtronic from $96.00 to $93.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Medtronic in a report on Monday, November 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $95.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Medtronic

In other Medtronic news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 12,437 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The stock was 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 represents a 23.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.20% of the stock is currently 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.