First National Trust Co Sells 6,735 Shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT)

First National Trust Co lessened its holdings in shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) by 11.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 53,470 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 6,735 shares during the quarter. First National Trust Co’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $4,271,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MDT. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Medtronic by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 13,131 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $1,182,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Medtronic by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC now owns 6,408 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $512,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. First City Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Medtronic by 2.9% during the third quarter. First City Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,123 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $371,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Hardy Reed LLC boosted its stake in shares of Medtronic by 4.4% during the third quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 2,743 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $247,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Finally, OLD Second National Bank of Aurora grew its holdings in shares of Medtronic by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 36,303 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $2,900,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.06% of the company’s stock.

Medtronic Stock Performance

MDT stock opened at $93.18 on Friday. Medtronic plc has a one year low of $75.96 and a one year high of $96.25. The firm has a market cap of $119.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.32, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.90. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $89.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $87.96.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The medical technology company reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $8.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.33 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that Medtronic plc will post 5.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Medtronic Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.00%. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.11%.

Insider Activity at Medtronic

In other Medtronic news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 9,850 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.41, for a total value of $792,038.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 40,708 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,273,330.28. This trade represents a 19.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MDT has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on Medtronic from $96.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Citigroup upgraded Medtronic from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $92.00 to $107.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Medtronic in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Medtronic from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Medtronic currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.