Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) Shares Sold by Westchester Capital Management Inc.

Westchester Capital Management Inc. lowered its holdings in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 85,480 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 1,653 shares during the quarter. Medtronic makes up about 1.7% of Westchester Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Westchester Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $6,828,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MDT. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Medtronic in the fourth quarter worth about $852,732,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Medtronic by 436.7% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 7,343,385 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $661,125,000 after buying an additional 5,975,110 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Medtronic by 2,043.4% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,598,150 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $207,540,000 after buying an additional 2,476,935 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in shares of Medtronic by 65.0% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 4,546,819 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $406,122,000 after buying an additional 1,790,483 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Medtronic by 58.4% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,850,914 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $346,705,000 after buying an additional 1,420,263 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.06% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Medtronic news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 12,437 shares of Medtronic stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $1,119,330.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 40,979 shares in the company, valued at $3,688,110. The trade was a 23.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Medtronic Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of MDT stock opened at $93.44 on Wednesday. Medtronic plc has a 1 year low of $75.96 and a 1 year high of $96.25. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $88.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $87.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $119.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The medical technology company reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.03. Medtronic had a net margin of 12.83% and a return on equity of 14.07%. The business had revenue of $8.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.33 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Medtronic plc will post 5.46 EPS for the current year.

Medtronic Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.00%. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.11%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Medtronic from $106.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Medtronic from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Medtronic in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Medtronic from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Medtronic from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $92.00 to $107.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Medtronic currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $96.07.

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.