Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) Shares Sold by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans trimmed its holdings in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 46.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 703,796 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 608,994 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Medtronic were worth $56,727,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Medtronic in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Medtronic during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. J. Stern & Co. LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Medtronic during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of Medtronic by 753.8% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 333 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC raised its position in shares of Medtronic by 145.7% during the 4th quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 344 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. 82.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Medtronic

In related news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 9,850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.41, for a total transaction of $792,038.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 40,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,273,330.28. This trade represents a 19.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays upped their price target on Medtronic from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Medtronic from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Medtronic from $96.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Citigroup raised Medtronic from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $92.00 to $107.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $96.07.

Medtronic Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE:MDT opened at $91.78 on Thursday. Medtronic plc has a 1 year low of $75.96 and a 1 year high of $96.25. The stock has a market cap of $117.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.90, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.80. The business has a fifty day moving average of $90.30 and a 200-day moving average of $88.04. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The medical technology company reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.03. Medtronic had a return on equity of 14.07% and a net margin of 12.83%. The company had revenue of $8.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.33 billion. Equities analysts predict that Medtronic plc will post 5.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Medtronic Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.05%. Medtronic’s payout ratio is 85.11%.

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.