Hennessy Advisors Inc. Sells 1,700 Shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. lowered its stake in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 2.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 59,900 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 1,700 shares during the quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $5,220,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in Medtronic by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 23,777,808 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $1,863,229,000 after purchasing an additional 1,994,123 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Medtronic during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,229,726,000. Sanders Capital LLC raised its stake in Medtronic by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 12,634,161 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $1,040,802,000 after purchasing an additional 346,641 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Medtronic by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,089,400 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $893,352,000 after purchasing an additional 101,111 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Medtronic by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 10,297,135 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $806,883,000 after purchasing an additional 649,367 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MDT. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Medtronic in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “sell” rating and a $83.00 target price on the stock. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Medtronic in a report on Friday, May 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Medtronic from $102.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 24th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $92.00 price target on shares of Medtronic in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Medtronic from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, May 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $93.00.

Insider Activity at Medtronic

In related news, EVP Michael Marinaro sold 854 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.14, for a total value of $71,001.56. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,925 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,321,684.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Michael Marinaro sold 854 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.14, for a total value of $71,001.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,925 shares in the company, valued at $2,321,684.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Geoffrey Martha sold 19,113 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.77, for a total value of $1,601,096.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 143,348 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,008,261.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Medtronic Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of Medtronic stock traded down $0.72 on Thursday, reaching $79.33. The company had a trading volume of 7,764,753 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,312,905. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 2.03 and a quick ratio of 1.55. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $81.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $83.53. The firm has a market cap of $101.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.83. Medtronic plc has a 1 year low of $68.84 and a 1 year high of $91.00.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 23rd. The medical technology company reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.01. Medtronic had a return on equity of 13.47% and a net margin of 11.36%. The firm had revenue of $8.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.57 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Medtronic plc will post 5.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Medtronic Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 12th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.53%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. This is a boost from Medtronic’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 100.36%.

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.