Prudential PLC Reduces Stock Position in Medtronic PLC (NYSE:MDT)

Prudential PLC decreased its stake in shares of Medtronic PLC (NYSE:MDT) by 46.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,618 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 17,590 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $1,853,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MDT. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Medtronic by 1,368.0% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 39,989 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $3,194,000 after buying an additional 37,265 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in Medtronic by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 198,656 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $15,869,000 after acquiring an additional 28,672 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in Medtronic by 280.7% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 408,323 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $32,617,000 after acquiring an additional 301,074 shares during the last quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Medtronic by 7,736.5% in the 4th quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 750,972 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $59,988,000 after purchasing an additional 741,389 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its stake in shares of Medtronic by 28.9% in the 4th quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,498,272 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $119,682,000 after purchasing an additional 335,925 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on MDT shares. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Medtronic from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday, June 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $105.00 to $101.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $107.00 target price (up previously from $98.00) on shares of Medtronic in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen lowered Medtronic from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $98.19.

Medtronic Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE MDT opened at $92.04 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $89.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $88.00. Medtronic PLC has a 12 month low of $79.29 and a 12 month high of $96.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.42. The company has a market capitalization of $117.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.80.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 21st. The medical technology company reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.04. Medtronic had a return on equity of 14.54% and a net margin of 13.90%. The company had revenue of $8.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.46 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Medtronic PLC will post 5.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Medtronic Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th were given a $0.71 dividend. This is a positive change from Medtronic’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 27th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Medtronic’s payout ratio is currently 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.