Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) Shares Sold by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,319,139 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 309,882 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 1.27% of Medtronic worth $1,303,572,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MDT. Copley Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Medtronic during the 3rd quarter valued at $694,000. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC increased its holdings in Medtronic by 32.6% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC now owns 73,517 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $5,873,000 after purchasing an additional 18,057 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd increased its stake in shares of Medtronic by 322.6% in the third quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 73,593 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $6,626,000 after buying an additional 56,178 shares during the last quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in Medtronic by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 94,000 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $7,509,000 after acquiring an additional 7,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank lifted its position in shares of Medtronic by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 278,065 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $22,212,000 after purchasing an additional 16,786 shares during the last quarter. 82.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Medtronic Price Performance

MDT stock opened at $87.62 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $112.38 billion, a PE ratio of 26.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.80. Medtronic plc has a one year low of $75.96 and a one year high of $96.25. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $90.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $87.99.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The medical technology company reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $8.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.33 billion. Medtronic had a net margin of 12.83% and a return on equity of 14.07%. On average, analysts forecast that Medtronic plc will post 5.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Medtronic Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.20%. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on MDT. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Medtronic from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Medtronic in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Medtronic from $93.00 to $89.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Medtronic from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $96.07.

Insider Activity

In other Medtronic news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 12,437 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $1,119,330.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 40,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,688,110. This represents a 23.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.