Olstein Capital Management L.P. Sells 10,000 Shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

Olstein Capital Management L.P. lessened its position in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 10.6% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 84,000 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 10,000 shares during the period. Medtronic comprises about 1.4% of Olstein Capital Management L.P.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Olstein Capital Management L.P.’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $7,548,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Medtronic by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 105,822 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $8,453,000 after buying an additional 2,778 shares during the last quarter. Equitable Trust Co. raised its holdings in shares of Medtronic by 91.7% during the fourth quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 39,645 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $3,167,000 after purchasing an additional 18,968 shares during the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC lifted its position in Medtronic by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 39,718 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $3,173,000 after purchasing an additional 1,301 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Medtronic by 1,368.0% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 39,989 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $3,194,000 after purchasing an additional 37,265 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oxford Asset Management LLP boosted its holdings in Medtronic by 70.1% in the fourth quarter. Oxford Asset Management LLP now owns 7,442 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $594,000 after purchasing an additional 3,068 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MDT has been the subject of several research reports. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Medtronic from $100.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Medtronic from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Medtronic from $105.00 to $101.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut Medtronic from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Medtronic from $94.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $97.00.

Medtronic Stock Performance

Shares of Medtronic stock opened at $87.38 on Monday. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $83.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $86.19. Medtronic plc has a 52 week low of $75.96 and a 52 week high of $96.25. The company has a market capitalization of $112.07 billion, a PE ratio of 26.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.79.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The medical technology company reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.04. Medtronic had a net margin of 12.83% and a return on equity of 14.07%. The firm had revenue of $8.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.46 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Medtronic plc will post 5.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Medtronic Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th will be issued a $0.71 dividend. This is an increase from Medtronic’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 27th. Medtronic’s payout ratio is presently 78.45%.

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.