South Dakota Investment Council Sells 9,900 Shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

South Dakota Investment Council lowered its holdings in shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 273,946 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 9,900 shares during the quarter. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $22,568,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MDT. Hartford Financial Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Medtronic by 425.0% during the third quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 315 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Medtronic in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. increased its position in shares of Medtronic by 293.0% during the fourth quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 316,643 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 236,064 shares during the period. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Medtronic by 317.0% in the third quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 367 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Princeton Global Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Medtronic in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors own 82.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Michael Marinaro sold 854 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.14, for a total transaction of $71,001.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,925 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,321,684.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Sean Salmon sold 30,695 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.13, for a total value of $2,613,065.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 48,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,110,842.57. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael Marinaro sold 854 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.14, for a total transaction of $71,001.56. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,925 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,321,684.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Medtronic Price Performance

Shares of MDT traded up $0.71 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $81.28. The stock had a trading volume of 5,296,122 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,290,356. The business has a fifty day moving average of $83.80 and a 200 day moving average of $81.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 2.30. The firm has a market cap of $107.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.89, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.76. Medtronic plc has a 12 month low of $68.84 and a 12 month high of $92.02.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The medical technology company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $8.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.95 billion. Medtronic had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 13.71%. Medtronic’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.30 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Medtronic plc will post 5.2 EPS for the current year.

Medtronic Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Investors of record on Friday, March 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.69 per share. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 21st. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 87.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on MDT. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Medtronic from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $92.00 price target on shares of Medtronic in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Mizuho upped their price target on Medtronic from $95.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Medtronic from $89.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.91.

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.