Kentucky Retirement Systems Sells 1,214 Shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

Kentucky Retirement Systems lowered its stake in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 88,139 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 1,214 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Medtronic were worth $7,041,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Medtronic by 436.7% in the third 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 worth $661,125,000 after acquiring an additional 5,975,110 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in Medtronic by 2,043.4% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,598,150 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $207,540,000 after purchasing an additional 2,476,935 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in Medtronic by 65.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 4,546,819 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $406,122,000 after purchasing an additional 1,790,483 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in Medtronic by 58.4% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,850,914 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $346,705,000 after purchasing an additional 1,420,263 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Medtronic by 8,908.6% during 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.06% of the company’s stock.

Medtronic Price Performance

NYSE MDT opened at $88.14 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $85.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $87.03. Medtronic plc has a 52 week low of $75.96 and a 52 week high of $93.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $113.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.79, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.84.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last announced its 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. The business had revenue of $8.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.33 billion. Medtronic had a net margin of 12.83% and a return on equity of 14.07%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Medtronic plc will post 5.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Medtronic Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 10th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.18%. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MDT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of Medtronic from $96.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Barclays upped their price objective on Medtronic from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Medtronic from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Medtronic in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Medtronic from $106.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $95.20.

Insider Activity at Medtronic

In other Medtronic news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 12,437 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.