Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 33,237 Shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 5.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 583,898 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 33,237 shares during the quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $46,642,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Medtronic by 0.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 60,731,367 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $5,509,155,000 after buying an additional 520,027 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Medtronic in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $852,732,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Medtronic by 3.3% during the third quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 8,582,993 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $772,727,000 after purchasing an additional 275,870 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Medtronic by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,002,051 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $639,204,000 after purchasing an additional 134,647 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position 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 valued at $661,125,000 after purchasing an additional 5,975,110 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Medtronic

In related news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 12,437 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 40,979 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,688,110. The trade was a 23.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Medtronic Price Performance

Shares of MDT opened at $94.58 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $121.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.80. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $88.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $87.80. 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 plc has a 1 year low of $75.96 and a 1 year high of $95.57.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The medical technology company reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $8.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.33 billion. Medtronic had a return on equity of 14.07% and a net margin of 12.83%. On average, equities analysts predict that Medtronic plc will post 5.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Medtronic Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on MDT. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Medtronic from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $92.00 to $107.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. 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 note on Wednesday, November 20th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Medtronic from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $96.07.

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.