Cooke & Bieler LP Sells 11,648 Shares of Medtronic PLC (NYSE:MDT)

Cooke & Bieler LP reduced its holdings in shares of Medtronic PLC (NYSE:MDT) by 1.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,085,734 shares of the medical technology company’s stock after selling 11,648 shares during the period. Cooke & Bieler LP’s holdings in Medtronic were worth $97,564,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MDT. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Medtronic by 1,368.0% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 39,989 shares of the medical technology company’s stock valued at $3,194,000 after purchasing an additional 37,265 shares during the last quarter. Oxford Asset Management LLP boosted its stake in shares of Medtronic by 70.1% during the 4th quarter. Oxford Asset Management LLP now owns 7,442 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $594,000 after buying an additional 3,068 shares during the last quarter. New Vernon Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Medtronic by 304.9% during the 4th quarter. New Vernon Investment Management LLC now owns 29,613 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $2,425,000 after purchasing an additional 22,300 shares during the last quarter. Insight Inv LLC boosted its stake in shares of Medtronic by 84.2% during the 1st quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 27,456 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $2,467,000 after acquiring an additional 12,550 shares during the period. Finally, Argent Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of Medtronic by 13.6% during the 4th quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 56,020 shares of the medical technology company’s stock worth $4,475,000 after buying an additional 6,721 shares during the period. 82.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Medtronic Stock Performance

NYSE MDT opened at $89.74 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $86.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $86.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.42. Medtronic PLC has a 1 year low of $77.94 and a 1 year high of $96.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $115.10 billion, a PE ratio of 24.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.80.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 21st. The medical technology company reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $8.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.81 billion. Medtronic had a return on equity of 14.54% and a net margin of 13.90%. Medtronic’s revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.46 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Medtronic PLC will post 5.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Medtronic Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, June 27th were given a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.16%. This is a positive change from Medtronic’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 27th. Medtronic’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on MDT shares. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Medtronic from $105.00 to $101.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Medtronic from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Leerink Partners started coverage on Medtronic in a research report on Monday, June 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $110.00 target price on the stock. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Medtronic to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Finally, BTIG Research restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Medtronic in a report on Friday, July 11th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $98.19.

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.