Axa S.A. Decreases Stock Holdings in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

Axa S.A. lowered its holdings in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 9.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 731,674 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 72,405 shares during the period. Axa S.A.’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $58,446,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Medtronic during the fourth quarter valued at $1,163,580,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Medtronic during the 4th quarter worth $852,732,000. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. purchased a new stake in Medtronic in the 4th quarter worth about $377,169,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised 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 valued at $207,540,000 after acquiring an additional 2,476,935 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Medtronic by 17.8% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 15,445,284 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $1,233,769,000 after purchasing an additional 2,333,600 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.06% of the company’s stock.

Medtronic Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MDT opened at $84.74 on Friday. Medtronic plc has a one year low of $75.96 and a one year high of $96.25. 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 $108.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.76, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.79. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $87.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $87.07.

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

Medtronic Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th were paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 28th. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup raised shares of Medtronic from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $92.00 to $107.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Medtronic from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Medtronic from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their target price on Medtronic from $93.00 to $90.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Medtronic presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $96.14.

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.