NFP Retirement Inc. Sells 864 Shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

NFP Retirement Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 6.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 13,366 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 864 shares during the quarter. NFP Retirement Inc.’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $1,068,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Medtronic in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Stephens Consulting LLC increased its holdings in shares of Medtronic by 145.7% in the fourth quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 344 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Medtronic by 753.8% in the fourth 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. bought a new position in Medtronic during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new position in Medtronic during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors own 82.06% of the company’s stock.

Medtronic Trading Down 3.2 %

Shares of MDT opened at $82.53 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $105.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.09, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a 50-day moving average of $89.88 and a 200 day moving average of $87.69. Medtronic plc has a 1-year low of $75.96 and a 1-year high of $96.25.

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

Medtronic Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.39%. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MDT. UBS Group raised 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. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Medtronic in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup raised shares of Medtronic from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $92.00 to $107.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Medtronic in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $96.07.

Insider Activity at Medtronic

In other news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 12,437 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 40,979 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,688,110. This trade represents a 23.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Medtronic Company 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.